Ruby Rose: Scattered Petals
by Zeroan
Summary: After the events of The Hunt, the world of Remnant has changed drastically - as has Ruby Rose's life. Her identity no longer a secret, she must juggle school and home with fighting the ever-growing evils that threaten mankind. Can Ruby rise above - or will she scatter? (Part of the RWBY Superhero Universe/Start of Phase 2)
1. What Comes After

**Author's Note: this story is a part of the RWBY Superhero Universe, and a sequel to both _The Red Huntress_ and _The Hunt_. Things will make a lot more sense if you've read those.**

* * *

On the outskirts of the country of Vale, close to the east coast, existed a town called Essiria. It was quiet little place, with no more than some five hundred people living in it, though the population tended to fluctuate with the coming and going of the fishing seasons. The people there were warm and hospitable, accustomed to uneventful lives. Essiria was a good place to call home.

Or so it used to be, before a hole opened in the skies of the capital and demons came flying from it to eradicate mankind. Everything had changed then, all around the world, and Essiria was like a perfect microcosm of the phenomenon.

People stopped opening their doors to strangers, and they didn't linger outside at night. The sky went from an object of wonder, to something to be feared and suspected at all times. Quiet didn't mean peace, it was a promise of horrors to come.

Thus, it was inevitable that the Grimm would appear to prey on the town, and when they did, the people of Essiria cowered in their homes and awaited their fates. Terror feeds on itself, a vicious cycle, and there is no terror more crippling than the knowledge that death itself was outside the door, searching for a scent…

But vicious cycles are rarely unbreakable. Sometimes, all it takes is for an outside element to be introduced at the right time.

Terror…

* * *

"…meet your maker!"

Springing into being amidst a shower of rose petals, Ruby swung her scythe in a deadly arc, cutting clean through a Beowolf's neck. Her feet hit the ground at the same time as the severed head, the motions of her cape dispersing the ensuing smoke. Sheer power irradiated from her in the form of her Aura, while around her petals still soared, a red storm waiting to be unleashed.

All around town, the Grimm forgot their previous prey and converged on her position, drawn to her like moths to a flame. Ruby simply stood in the middle of the road and watched them approach with a confident smile on her lips, Crescent Rose rested across her shoulders. Her blood was pumping, her heart was racing, her feet rising and falling all on their own…

This was far from her first rodeo, but that didn't make it any less exciting.

Just as the first Grimm charged, Ruby stepped into action herself, shooting backwards to propel herself towards the Ursa and kick it in the face, sending it crashing back into the monsters behind it. A bang and a flash of Red Dust, and a hole appeared in the Grimm's ranks.

The transition was seamless, the young girl becoming nothing less than a red blur, reappearing only shortly enough to eliminate a target before hopping to the next one. There wasn't a move wasted, each swing of her scythe delivering death without fail. The Grimm could do nothing against her as every attempted claw or bite only rendered through harmless petals.

Yet for all her grace and power, Ruby barely broke a sweat. She was a force of nature, unstoppable and utterly devastating. In that moment, her existence had only one purpose, and she would see it through to the end.

For her, the battle felt like an eternity, but not in a tortuous way. No, that couldn't be farther from the truth. This was the stuff she lived for, and if she had her wish, it would go on forever. In reality, the last Grimm fell after two minutes and twenty-seven seconds. Ruby coalesced back into form in the middle of the street, breathing hard, silver eyes stretched wide as she searched for any foes she might have missed.

She only snapped back to normal when a light flashed on her face, causing her to blink and look towards its origin. From the other side of a house's window, a boy watched, cellphone held up at the ready. Awkwardly, Ruby raised a hand in greeting, then hoisted Crescent Rose over her shoulder and turned away, sighing.

The battle had ended astoundingly fast, and it wasn't like there were few Grimm. In fact, the number of beasts attracted to this town was rather disproportionate to its population. The people really must have been freaking out for something like that to happen.

Guilt struck her like a rock. Her job wasn't about killing Grimm, but rather protecting people and giving them hope. She could never forget that. Ashamed, Ruby bowed her head and put Crescent Rose away in its folded form, then took out her Scroll. She needed to make up for her terrible behavior…

But first, her attention was taken by the notification of an hours-old audio message from none other than her father. Ruby looked around. The townspeople were starting to come out of their homes now, and a few had gathered up the courage to approach her.

"Uhm, sorry, I can't stay!" she called out, conjuring up a weak smile. "The Grimm are gone, so… stay safe, everyone!"

One aspect of her job which she was awful at was talking to people. Ruby never knew what to say after rescuing someone – _yeah, I just saved your life, you're very welcome_ – and gaining worldwide fame hadn't made it any easier. Therefore, she was more than relieved to have an excuse to run away from the prospect, and run away she did, feeling only a little shame at activating her Semblance to move to the edge of town.

Once she was certain she was alone, Ruby brought her Scroll up to her ear.

" _Hey, sweetheart. How are you doing? Actually, don't answer that question. You're not picking up, so you must be busy fighting some nasties, right? So obviously you're doing just fine._ "

Ruby was so touched she couldn't even feel too smug. Not every father would accept their daughter going off on her own to hunt Grimm, and only the most special would be so unreservedly supportive of it. Ruby was one lucky girl.

" _Anyway, I was wondering if you were coming home today. Hoping, actually, because you were supposed to be here yesterday already and, you know, school…_

" _Also, I was wanting to make some casserole for dinner, but it'd be a waste to eat it alone. So if you could call back soon, I'd be eternally grateful_."

" _Love you. Bye!_ "

The message ended with a kissing noise so loud and wet, Ruby couldn't help but shudder. She knew he did it on purpose too. No wonder he and Yang were related.

Once her revulsion was lifted, Ruby fell deep in thought. She did love it when her father made casserole, and it felt like centuries since they'd shared a dinner that wasn't ordered or microwaved…

Nodding to herself, Ruby quickly typed out a message and sent it. _I'll be there by dinner. Make it Ruby-sized!_

She closed her messages, returning to the previous application, which she had neglected to close last time. She rarely didn't have it up, anyway. As a former top-level agent of Beacon and now Huntress, Ruby had direct access to the Beacon satellites that tracked current and predicted Breaches. This was her sole guide nowadays. She didn't need to rely on Miss Goodwitch anymore, which she had been ecstatic about at first, but she'd begun to miss her former boss lately. There was nothing quite like having a disgruntled adult at your ear harshly judging your every move.

Ruby sighed. Good old times…

According to the latest readings, there was another Breach about to happen in an hour or so, near a town not far North of her current position. Beacon agents were already set to be dispatched there, but…

Not giving it much thought, Ruby marked that she would be taking care of the Breach. It was only just turning night. She could make it to the site of the Breach quickly and kill the Grimm even quicker, and from there she could head to the nearest Beacon outpost and get a ride to Patch.

She would be back home in no time. What was one more little hunt to finish the day?

* * *

Slow as she went, Ruby couldn't stop the front door from dragging against the floor, and the scratching noise brought a grimace to her face. She pushed the door a little faster and slipped inside, then swiftly closed it behind her and pressed her back against it.

She remained there for a moment, holding her breath as she stared at the darkness of the house, just waiting for a light to come on and expose her. But save for the clicking of one of her father's many clocks on a nearby wall, the house was immersed in silence.

With a sigh of relief, Ruby bent down and took off her boots and socks. She wiggled her tired toes before walking towards the kitchen, stopping for a moment to look at the clock.

One past midnight. She'd really done it this time.

Hanging her head in shame, Ruby dragged her feet to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Her stomach rumbled at the vast selection of foods inside. She was so hungry, she couldn't even decide on what to eat. But it couldn't be anything complicated or that she would have to heat up. The last thing she wanted was to wake up her father…

"Ah. The prodigal daughter returns."

The kitchen lights came on, and Ruby looked towards her father, leaning on the doorway with a knowing expression on his face. Ruby averted her eyes, her body freezing up entirely. She wanted to apologize, but her tongue seemed to be glued to the bottom of her mouth.

"It's on the top shelf," Taiyang said. Receiving no response, he moved behind her and stretched an arm over her, taking a pot from the fridge. "Here, I'll heat it up for you."

He went to the microwave and put the pot in, then set it to three minutes. A fresh wave of guilt washed over Ruby as she noticed it was the casserole he was heating up.

"What are you doing standing there with the fridge open? You wanna freeze or something?" Taiyang rolled his eyes. He pulled her away from the fridge and closed it, then dragged a chair back from the kitchen table and sat her down on it. "There. Want me to get you your bib too?"

Ruby swallowed dry, her father's peppiness only making her feel worse. She'd have preferred him to be angry or disappointed at her, but instead it was like he didn't even care about what she'd done.

"So, how was the hunting?" Taiyang asked, leaning on the counter beside the microwave. "Any big scary Grimm give you trouble?"

"Hmm?" Ruby mumbled, eyes fixed on the empty plate before her. "No… Just normal stuff…"

"But a lot of that, I'll bet," he replied. "Director Ozpin must regret recruiting you. You're taking half the work away from Beacon at this rate. Jobs are being jeopardized," he chuckled. "They gotta step up their game, or else…"

Ruby bit her lip, unable to bring herself to respond. A long silence fell between them. Then, the microwave started beeping, and Taiyang took out the casserole and put it down on her plate, then handed her a fork and knife.

"Dig in."

Ruby obeyed, hesitant at first, but soon her mechanical movements gained speed as she consumed the food voraciously. The fuller she got, the less she could ignore how tired she was. It hadn't hit her while she'd been out in the field, but days of running around and fighting Grimm had taken a toll on her body, and that was something that, for once, she couldn't power through with determination alone.

When she was done, Ruby nearly slipped off her chair. Her father grabbed her by the shoulders and set her straight, squeezing softly. Ruby groaned, her eyelids weighing like lead all of a sudden.

"Dad…" her voice was so small, she could barely get the words out. "I'm sorry…"

"Oh, sweetheart," Taiyang sighed. "You know I don't hold it against you."

"But you should," Ruby glared at the crumb remains of her meal. "I'm the worst daughter ever."

"Don't say that," he turned her around, and when she tried to turn her face away, he pulled her back by the chin so he could stare her in the eyes. "You were out there because you had a job to do, and no one does it better than you. How could I ever be anything other than proud, Ruby?" he smiled sadly. "I only wish you would take better care of yourself."

"The world's in a really bad place," Ruby mumbled. "I can't slow down. People need me."

"Yeah, things are bad, but it's not the end times. And that's because of you," he said. "You've done a lot already. There's no harm in letting other people take the burden for a while."

Ruby couldn't quite agree with that sentiment, but she was so tired, she really had no ability to argue her position any further.

"God, you really are about to collapse," Taiyang said. "What did you do to get to this point? Have you not slept since you left?"

"No, it's just… There were a lot of Breaches, and then I realized I was late for dinner… _really_ late…" Ruby looked away shamefully. "I kinda ran all the way back here."

"You _ran_?" Taiyang's eyes widened. "Ruby, we live on an island."

"I wasn't really on my best mind, okay?" Ruby blinked heavily. "I wanna go to bed…"

She started to get up, only to be hoisted off her feet and placed in her father's arms. Not about to complain, Ruby closed her eyes and nestled in as he walked out of the kitchen and carried her up the stairs and to her room.

"You're too much like your mother sometimes, you know?" she heard him say. "Always with the weight of the world on her shoulders. It took you, plus a whole lot of arguing, for her to finally slow down. And even then, I knew that, deep down, it was a little like torture for her…"

He put her down on her bed and tossed a sheet over her, then bent down to kiss her forehead.

"Sweet dreams, Little Rose."

Ruby mumbled something not even she could comprehend, and before he had even closed the door, fell in a deep slumber, a content smile on her lips.

* * *

 **RUBY ROSE  
**

 **SCATTERED PETALS**

* * *

"-and now that we have the radius and height of object _b_ , we can go back to _a_ and apply the formula. But we mustn't forget, and if you do you can count on losing some otherwise easy points on the test, that first we need to convert the two objects to the same unit of measurement. As always, the less numbers the better, so we'll convert _a_ 's centimeters to _b's_ -"

Without warning, the classroom door slammed open, and a cluster of rose petals funneled in, littering the floor and the whiteboard. Ruby landed haphazardly in her assigned seat, nearly knocking it and the desk over with her momentum. In the blink of an eye, she had all her school material out of her backpack and arranged messily in front of her.

"Miss Rose!"

Ruby looked up at the professor, fully expecting to be reprimanded and booted out of the classroom until the start of the next period. Instead, the professor offered her a warm smile, which coupled with the stray petals that had found their way into his hair, made it difficult to feel any remorse for her lateness.

"It's good to have you back," he tapped the whiteboard with his pen, not noticing he was marking all over his calculations. "We're halfway through revising the last test, but we could go back a little bit if you wish."

"Uh… no, thank you," Ruby said hesitantly. "I'll just follow along from where we are."

"Alright," the professor seemed a little disheartened. "But if you need a refresher, I'm always available."

He turned around and got back to the earlier problem. Ruby sighed. Her performance on the last test hadn't been good, to put it mildly, so she certainly could have used the help, but accepting just didn't feel right. If she'd shown up late just a couple months ago, her reception would have been completely different.

Pretending like she wasn't hearing the enthusiastic greetings from her classmates all around her, Ruby looked to the clock above the whiteboard. It hadn't been a minute since she'd sat down, and already she was wishing she was anywhere else. She should have stayed home for the day – she had a right to it, after all she'd put herself through lately.

But as much as she wished otherwise, things weren't so simple. Saving the world wasn't enough credit to get her through the end of high school. So Ruby hunkered down in her seat, and with her eyes glued to the clock, waited.

* * *

The bell was like angels singing to Ruby's ears, but she could only be relieved for so long. Not bothering to gather up her things, she made it straight for the door, but even that hadn't been fast enough to avoid the mob that formed around her. It only got worse when she stepped out of the room and people that weren't even from her class joined in.

"Hey Ruby! I saw you on the news the other night! Nice work!"

"Do you think you could bring your scythe to school someday? It must look even cooler from up close!"

"Hey, do you have a partner for the dance yet?"

Ruby tried her best to keep up with the cacophony of voices, blubbering half-responses as she scanned the crowd for any openings. She had expected to receive some attention when she came back home after the Battle of Vale, but not to this level and for so long. Weeks had passed, and things still hadn't returned to normal.

Most people would have been ecstatic. After all, Ruby's _normal_ meant being nearly invisible, only ever noticed for how strange she was. But she'd never had a problem with that, because as long as she had her family and her dreams, Ruby was never truly alone.

Life was the complete opposite now, and the novelty of it had run its course fast. She wished she could go back to being Red Bolt. The most people could do then was _suspect_ she was a superhero. A flimsy disguise, but it had done the job.

"You're eating with us today, right, Ruby? We've got a free spot on our table."

"Uh, actually," Ruby held back a frustrated groan. "I have somewhere I need to be."

"Ooh. Are you going to hunt some Grimm nearby? That sounds awesome!"

"No! That's the opposite of awesome," Ruby shuddered. Grimm near the school? Nope, she could do without that, thank you very much. "I just have to – err – it's classified!"

Holding onto the last vestiges of her patience, Ruby stepped up her pace, forcing her way through the crowd ahead. While everyone headed for the cafeteria, Ruby broke away and exited the building through a side-door to the outdoor sports court.

Not waiting for someone to come along, Ruby sat down on the stands beside the track field. She had been putting up with everyone's attention during lunch, but she just didn't have the energy for it today. This place was completely empty – there was no one to ruin her newfound peace. Maybe she'd come hang out here every day from now on. Sure, it was boring, but it was still a better option than having people nonstop fighting for her attention.

She took her Scroll out, instinctively going to check for Grimm activity, but stopped herself short and opened her messages instead. _The Hunt_ had a bunch of stuff she hadn't viewed yet, including a vast gallery of photos that together told a harrowing story of how Jaune had set the kitchen on fire trying to bake cookies. Luckily, Weiss had been visiting and had helped Pyrrha put out the fire before it got dangerous. Yang had apparently been too busy making fun of Jaune to extend the same courtesy, though.

Looking at the photos only made Ruby's mood worse. What she wouldn't give to be living in Vale with the others! Instead she was stuck in Patch, doing nothing, her only reprieve the hunting expeditions she took every weekend – which she often let extend into school days, but that wasn't an official decision, not at all.

Ruby didn't consider herself a grumpy sort of person, but with each day that passed...

"Oh."

Ruby lowered her Scroll at the sound of the unknown voice. At the base of the stands was a girl she didn't recognize. Her hair was a pale shade of orange, curly and ending just above her shoulders. Freckles dotted her cheeks. She was wearing the official Signal uniform, which was weird considering the high school students weren't obliged to.

"Hi. Can I… help you with something?" Ruby asked, wondering if she was a middle schooler that had gotten lost somehow.

"No, thank you. I am absolutely and completely al-right!" the girl answered loudly, clasping her hands and bowing slightly. "Excuse me. I didn't realize there was anyone else here. I'll leave you alone!"

"Oh, no, please stay! I won't mind!" Ruby exclaimed. "I'm only here because everyone's, eh… My classmates can be a bit too much sometimes."

"Indeed! I saw you before, and you did look mighty uncomfortable," the girl said. "I also found myself uneasy at their presence, although the issue might not be them specifically. I think I don't like crowds!"

"You _think_?"

Before Ruby knew it, the girl had climbed up the stands and sat down beside her, leaning so close that her nose was almost touching Ruby's cheek. "I'm Penny. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Laughing nervously, Ruby slid a little to the side, then offered Penny a little smile. "Yeah, it's a pleasure. I'm Ruby, but you must have known that already."

If Penny did know about her, she didn't let it show - or maybe she just didn't care all that much. Either way, Ruby was happy.

"So… _Penny_ ," she said. "I've never seen you before. Are you new or something?"

"Yes! I am new. Quite perceptive of you, Ruby!" Penny nodded. "I am originally from Atlas, but my father was offered a _tremendous_ business opportunity in the pharmaceutic industry, and so we moved to Patch. I miss my friends and my old school, but I really like it here already!" she blinked. "Do you have any other questions, Ruby?"

Ruby didn't remember asking Penny for such a thorough explanation, but she wasn't about to complain. "Uh, no. I'm glad you're feeling okay. I've never moved, not even once, but I hear it can be hard on people."

"It's been great!" Penny said, and Ruby realized she was in for another extensive answer. "I'm on my last year of school, and while you may think moving might cause some problems with that, I've faced no hardships at all. My grades in Atlas were near flawless, such that I could go the rest of the school year with barely any effort and still graduate," she smiled at Ruby. "I am actually in the same class as you, but I believe you weren't here yesterday when I introduced myself to everyone."

"Oh, I'm sorry I missed that," Ruby rubbed the back of her neck. "Man, did the teacher really make you introduce yourself in front of the class? I mean, isn't it a little late in the year for that stuff?"

"Apologies, but I think you misunderstood me, Ruby. I did not introduce myself in front of the class. I personally said hello to everyone!"

Ruby was so astonished she couldn't think of anything to say in response. Just imagining introducing herself to that many strangers made her feel queasy. To actually do it? She would probably give up after the third or fourth person and go hide in the bathroom until class was over for the day.

Perhaps it was an Atlas thing. Although, Weiss was also Atlesian, and while she could be very polite, she wasn't anywhere near as immediately friendly as Penny.

"Well… I, uh…" Ruby scratched her head, befuddled. "It's good that you don't have school problems, I guess. I wish I was the same way, but my grades are barely passable, and at the rate I'm going, they're going to get even worse."

"That's not good!" Penny frowned. "Do you not have time to study, or do you have difficulty learning?"

"A bit of both, I guess," Ruby shrugged. "Can't study when the world's falling apart…"

"Fret not! I can help you with your problems, Ruby!" Penny said, getting up and offering her a hand. "Not only am I an exceptional student, I also have superb teaching capabilities. If you wish, I could tutor you."

"Really? I don't know about that…" Ruby said. "I wouldn't want to take time away from your studies. And I have lots of responsibilities… very important responsibilities. You know what I'm talking about?"

"Even so. We must strive for perfection," Penny nodded at her hand. "I am eager to help."

Ruby couldn't make up her mind. She had no issue believing Penny was as capable as she claimed, and Ruby wouldn't mind spending some time with her. Sure, Penny was a little odd, but throughout all their conversation, she hadn't once mentioned Ruby's powers, fame, or anything related, though Ruby had certainly given her several windows for it. It was a welcome change from how everyone else was treating her.

But studying, even if it was with a friend… Ruby just couldn't imagine herself doing that. What did Math, English and History matter when, out in the world, people were being hunted by Grimm?

"I don't think tutoring would work out, Penny," Ruby said. "But I'd be happy to just hang out with you sometimes. You seem like a good friend to have."

"A… friend?" Penny repeated slowly. A big smile dawned on her face. "I'd be delighted to be friends with you, Ruby!"

The bell rang again, signaling their break's end. Ruby got up, only to almost go rolling down the stands as Penny tackled her into a hug. Startled as she was, she returned the gesture a moment later, patting Penny in the back of the head awkwardly.

She couldn't help but notice that Penny was unusually strong for her size.

* * *

Once class was over, Ruby hung around just long enough to say bye to Penny, then left before she could be swarmed again. She ran home with her Semblance, rousing the curiosity of many people she passed by, but the journey was otherwise uneventful.

As she opened the front door, a camera flashed behind her. Ruby looked over her shoulder and glared at the van on the other side of the street, then huffed and went inside, dropping her backpack on the entrance hall.

"I'm back!" she announced, stretching her arms. "Dad, are you home?"

She went into the living room and found Taiyang sitting on the sofa, watching TV. Ruby plopped down beside him, took her shoes off, then poked her naked feet against his face. He didn't bat an eye.

"I am happy to see you too, sweetheart," he said. "Was school exciting?"

"The usual," Ruby replied. "I did make a new friend, though. And I mean a friend-friend, not a The-Hunt-fanclub-friend."

"Oh my! A friend, you say?" he pretended to swipe a proud tear from his eye. "And it only took three years…"

" _Wow_. Thanks, Dad. For your information, I had no friends because I chose so!" Ruby crossed her arms. "I am perfectly capable of making friends. Hence, Penny."

"I never said you weren't," Taiyang chuckled. He took her feet off his shoulder and dropped them on the sofa. "Was there still a van outside?"

"Yep. I think it's from one of those stupid magazines," Ruby said. "Or maybe it's from a fansite. Hopefully one of the nice ones, not the creepy ones."

"All fansites are creepy if they're about my daughters," Taiyang stated, getting up decidedly. "Let me get my middle-age-temperament on and scare those idiots away."

He marched off, leaving Ruby no room to argue with him. A few moments later, she heard the front door open, and then him shouting at the top of his lungs, going into a tirade that involved the words _police_ , _waste of time_ , and some choice terms Ruby wasn't allowed to repeat until she was of age.

The van sped off not long after. Taiyang returned, a satisfied smile on his lips, and sat back down to watch the TV as if nothing had happened. Ruby just shook her head, not knowing whether to be touched or annoyed by his protectiveness.

"I washed your costume, by the way," Taiyang said. "It's on your bed if you need it."

"It's not a costume, it's my uniform," Ruby corrected.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "How come Yang and the others don't have uniforms too, then?"

"Because! If they wanted, they could have their own, but they don't, _so_ ," Ruby threw her hands up. "It's about style, okay? What's the point of fighting evil if you don't look awesome doing it?"

"An irrefutable point," Taiyang conceded. "…Doesn't explain the skirt, but okay."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "You know, I'm actually thinking of changing costu- uniforms. I've been using the same one for almost two years now, I think it's time for some rebranding," she nodded sagely. "I mean, I am much mature today than I was when I got my powers. Right?"

" _Of course_."

"I was thinking of getting rid of the hoodie. It's not like I used it much, and it got in the way at the worst times," Ruby said. "I was also thinking of adding a little gray to contrast with the black. Oh, and make the skirt shorter, of course."

Taiyang was changing channels, and he nearly threw the remote away when he heard that last idea. "Did you say _shorter_?"

"Yeah. It's all fluffy now. It's kinda silly, and annoying to boot," Ruby explained. "I want something new. Something that has an _oomph_ to it. You look at it, and you say to yourself - _yeah, now_ that's _a battle-skirt_."

"…I feel like I'm not the person you should be discussing this with," Taiyang said. "How about you consult with your sister instead?"

"Oh, she's the one who gave me the idea!"

For whatever reason, he didn't look too happy about the response. Ruby shrugged. Fathers be fathers.

Her Scroll started buzzing. Ruby immediately took it and looked at the screen, half-hoping to be alerted of a Breach nearby – but instead, it was just a phone call, but from an unknown caller. Weird. Her Scroll wasn't like any regular phone, only her teammates, her father, and Beacon should be able to contact it.

She decided to take the call anyway. What was the worst it could be? Cinder Fall herself declaring her intention to once again bring ruin to the modern world? Not likely.

"Hello?"

" _Good afternoon. This is Lisa Lavender from the Vale News Network. Am I speaking to Ruby Rose?_ "

Okay, that was kinda bad, but Ruby refrained from tossing her phone away. First the paparazzi, now this? What came next, reporters dropping from a helicopter onto her roof?

Still, there were worse reporters to talk to than Lisa Lavender, and Ruby believed in giving people the benefit of the doubt. "That's me, the one and only. Uhm, if you don't mind me asking, how did you get my number…?"

" _Your friend, Mister Jaune Arc, was gracious enough to share it with me. I asked him first, of course, and it took some convincing,_ " Lisa explained. " _I'm sorry if I'm intruding, Miss Rose. I'm aware your life's been under a lot of scrutiny lately._ "

"Tell me about it," Ruby muttered. "What did you want from me?"

She asked, but Ruby had a pretty good guess already. She'd received a lot of requests for interviews from all kinds of platforms, especially early on. VNN itself had been one to try and snag some of her time. Obviously, Ruby had refused. She'd had enough on her plate already dealing with Grimm, mankind's despair and school.

" _Well, I wanted to see if you were available for an interview, by any chance. I know the network has already approached you several times, but this is different. This request is coming from me, Miss Rose_ ," Lisa said. " _I'm not interested in conspiracies about Grimm, or which of your teammates are hooking up._ "

"That's nice," Ruby grinned. "People have pretty wild imaginations, you know."

" _Exactly. I'm more interested in the concrete. I want to hear your story, Miss Rose, however you want to tell it, and I think I'm not alone in that_ _. You could do a lot of good. But it's up to you. I'm just offering you my platform._ "

Ruby had to admit, the proposal didn't sound terrible. She was all about helping people, after all, and what better way to help the world right now than to assure everyone that things were under control and that she really was ready to fight for them? The prospect of speaking to so many people was nerve-wracking, but maybe it would be worth it…

"Can I think about it?"

" _Sure. If you want to do it, just give me a call. Thank you for your time, Miss Rose_ ," Lisa paused. "… _Thank you._ "

"R-right. Bye."

Ruby put down her Scroll and looked at her father, who seemed very interested in what had just transpired.

"Telemarketing?" he asked, chuckling at his own joke.

"Nope," Ruby said, deep in thought. "A way forward, maybe."

Taiyang tilted his head curiously, trying to decipher her meaning. "…A college scholarship?" He looked so hopeful, Ruby couldn't even be annoyed at him.

* * *

 **He-hey! It's Ruby again! Hi, Ruby!**

 **Sorry if I disappointed some folks, but I really see no other way to start Phase Two other than with Ruby. In a lot of ways, this story is more of a sequel to _The Hunt_ than to _The Red Huntress_. It's the perfect gateway to what comes next for the universe. But the focus is still Ruby, of course.**

 **I would have announced this story right when I finished _The Hunt_ , but to be honest, I only didn't because I wasn't sure about the title. There were a lot of candidates, but none of them fit very well... until _Scattered Petals_ popped into my mind, and that was history. I really love that title, but I'll refrain from discussing it for now.**

 **Anyway. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter.**

 **Welcome to Phase Two.**

 **-Zeroan**


	2. Ruby On Air

_Beep. Beep._

Any moment now.

 _Beep. Beep._

Yep. Miss Goodwitch was bound to answer sometime. No doubt about it.

 _Beep. Beep. Beep._

Maybe she was busy. It wouldn't surprise Ruby. Miss Goodwitch's job had been hard enough _before_ Vale, Ruby could only imagine how she functioned today.

 _Beep._

Probably a lot like herself. Spread thin. Always paranoid that the sky was going to fall down on Remnant. A nightmare here or there.

 _Beep. Beep._

She wasn't going to answer, was she?

" _Miss Rose. What a pleasant surprise._ "

Ruby almost fell off her chair, so surprised she was. She held onto her held and pulled herself back up, causing some stray Crescent Rose pieces to roll off the edge and fall on the floor with a clatter. Cursing under her breath, she put her Scroll between her shoulder and her ear and bent over to gather up the pieces.

" _I am hoping that wasn't as disastrous as it sounded_."

"Disastrous? I don't know what you're talking about, Miss Goodwitch!" Ruby said, slowing down her movements and trying to even her voice. "Nothing disastrous over here, no ma'am. Oh, and hi! It's Ruby!"

" _I'm aware_ ," Miss Goodwitch sounded as done with Ruby's antics as ever. Which was to say, way past done. Ah. How Ruby had missed their conversations. " _My apologies for not answering sooner. Things have been – how should I put it – rather_ hectic _as of late. I'm sure you can relate._ "

"Tell me about it!" Ruby smirked, putting the last piece back on the desk. "So many Grimm, so little time…"

" _And school, to boot_ …"

Ruby slammed her hand down on the desk, and everything she'd recovered and more went flying all over her room. She kicked herself, then shook her head in wonder. She had to admit it, Miss Goodwitch had gotten her good with that one. Ruby hadn't been expecting it at all.

"Yep. School. What can I say, it's pretty cool!" Ruby laughed nervously. "A very… formative experience and all that…"

" _Yes, that_ is _the intent_ ," Miss Goodwitch said. " _But surely you haven't been calling me nonstop to talk about your life now that you're back home. What's on your mind, then?_ "

It was a little disappointing that Miss Goodwitch only expected Ruby to call if she had a problem to deal with or something like that. Not that she had any reason to believe otherwise – Ruby _hadn't_ talked to her at all since Vale. Maybe that was the worst part, that she actually was right…

"Well… You see, last week I got a call from Miss Lavender. I mean, Lisa Lavender. The reporter, I'm sure you know about her," Ruby said. "She asked me if we could do an interview. She said it would be all about me, but I'm sure that's not completely true. I don't know if I should do it or not, and I was wondering if you could help with that…"

Miss Goodwitch was silent for a while, and Ruby worried that she'd bothered her with something trivial when she had way more important things to be seeing to. But eventually, the Commander spoke again, and she sounded like she'd truly given the matter some thought.

" _I don't only know_ about _Lisa Lavender, I've met her. I can't say I've been interviewed by her, not officially, but our jobs have caused us to cross paths many times over the years_ ," she said. " _To be frank, I don't like reporters. But Lavender is cut from a different cloth than most. She's shrewd and she'll go to any lengths to get the material she desires, but she's honest and thoughtful too, or at least she knows how to appear so._ "

"So… are you saying she's a good person? Or not?" Ruby asked. "Sorry, you're not being too clear here."

" _She's as decent as they come. I wouldn't worry about her intentions_ ," Miss Goodwitch paused. " _However… I do agree that, if you were to agree, the conversation would no doubt stray from the topic of you to, well… things Beacon would rather the general populace not know much about._ "

A small Weiss-like voice rang in Ruby's mind. _Such as Beacon itself!_ Ruby shook her head, a little disturbed by her own imagination.

"But wouldn't talking about the Grimm be a good thing in the long run?" she pondered. "It's scary business, sure, but now that people know they exist, what's the point of keeping everyone in the dark? Isn't _not knowing_ scarier?"

" _Perhaps. That's not a question I'm confident I can answer_ ," Miss Goodwitch said. " _What I can say is that the world is in an unstable enough state already. Shaking things up is much more likely to harm than to help._ "

Ruby nodded. She couldn't agree more. As an already less than stealer speaker with a tendency to be reduced to a nervous mess when a single camera was pointed her way, Ruby could see a thousand possibilities where she screwed up royally on live television and caused the world to crack into literal pieces.

Maybe she was being overly dramatic. But, oh, she was panicking just _thinking_ about the interview!

" _All that aside, Ruby_ ," Miss Goodwitch said, and just the use of her name caused Ruby to feel safer. " _As someone who was in your life for a good year and a half, I have no doubt you would perform excellently._ "

"W-what?" Ruby gasped. "You don't think I would screw up…?"

" _Why would I think that? As long as you put in the proper effort, I know you can do anything_."

Ruby brought her hand to her mouth and bit on a finger, fighting back a sudden urge to sob. It wasn't like Miss Goodwitch was unfeeling or anything close to that, but for her to sound so warm towards her…

Now Ruby really was feeling guilty about not calling her before.

" _So, will you do it?_ "

"I-I don't know," Ruby breathed out slowly. "I'll think about it some more."

" _Take your time. You've certainly got enough in your plate before taking VNN interviews into account_ ," Miss Goodwitch said. " _Speaking of plates. I'm afraid I must be going. It appears the Supreme Director of Beacon has yet to learn how to properly operate a tablet device without on-hands help._ "

" _That is a_ bold _exaggeration and a lie, Commander Goodwitch, and you should know better than to slander your own-"_

 _"Have a good day, Miss Rose._ "

"Uhm, yeah, g-good day to you too…"

The call ended with a beep, but it took a while for Ruby to put her phone down. There was a bubbly feeling inside her now, a newfound confidence that told her to get back on her Scroll and call Miss Lavender right away to confirm the interview – but just as that thought came, it was quickly brushed aside. She needed to take her time, definitely _not_ because she was nervous.

With a sigh, she pushed her Scroll further away on her desk, then looked around her room. The mechanical pieces of Crescent Rose were still scattered everywhere – on the carpet beside the bed, the bed itself, under the desk…

"Ugh."

Well, at least she had _something_ to do with her time until she came to a decision.

* * *

Maybe she could add some crosses to each shoulder, pining her cape to the rest of the uniform. That way, she could take it off whenever she wanted – it could make a nice blanket in a crisis! But were crosses still cool? Ruby thought so, but they did seem a little over the top. And they didn't mesh that well with her thematic as a whole.

She'd have to consult with Yang about that. She already meant to ask about leggings, after all. Ruby had joked about a shorter skirt with her Dad, but she did actually want one… while keeping her decency, as she had become a bit of a role model for girls worldwide.

That was _still_ a weird thought.

"…and that's how we get to alternative B!" Penny exclaimed, tracing a circle on her notebook and then spinning her pen between her fingers, a little self-satisfied smile on her lips. "Did you get all that, Ruby?"

Startled, Ruby blinked and looked at Penny. She gave a cursory glance to the notebook, then wriggled her fingers guiltily on her lap. "Uhm… sorry. Could you repeat that?"

"Sure!" Penny replied without hesitation. "Which part?"

Ruby raised her hands sheepishly. "…All of it?"

Penny stared at her for a moment before putting her pen down and crossing her arms. She assumed an expression Ruby assumed was supposed to be stern, but to her it just looked adorable. Penny couldn't pretend to be mean for the life of her.

"You know, Ruby, if you don't pay attention, your grades are only going to drop more," Penny said. "I'm always willing to help, but you have to put some effort or else we're both wasting our time."

"I know… I'm sorry, Penny," Ruby sighed. "I wish I was better, but… It's been kinda difficult to care lately, you know?"

"I believe I don't," Penny tilted her head quizzically. "Could you elaborate, friend?"

Ruby looked around at the empty stands and the track field, suddenly wishing the bell would ring and give her a window to avoid the question. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk about it with Penny specifically, but…

She was having trouble enough dealing with the issue herself. Talking about it with anyone at all made it even more real.

"I don't know. It's complicated," Ruby said. "I mean, it's not _that_ complicated, but still. Grimm are a thing now. Well, they've been for a while, but now… Everything's changed. Except we're still here learning about equations and dead people from five hundred years ago and all that dumb stuff," she paused. "I _know_ it's not dumb. But considering I kill monsters for a living…"

Penny hummed under her breath, staring fixedly at her. Ruby squirmed a bit where she sat, hoping Penny wasn't judging her for what she'd said. She couldn't help how she felt, as much as she wished otherwise.

"I suppose that makes sense," Penny said finally. "You are very dedicated to being a Huntress, aren't you, Ruby?"

Ruby nodded mutely. It was a little weird to hear that from Penny. For the one week they'd known each other, Penny hadn't said a word about Ruby's other life, and she hadn't given any indication of having thought about it. It had been nice… but also weird, Ruby had to admit.

"Well, as my father always says, no matter what happens, the world keeps on spinning! And since we _are_ still students, regardless of the monsters and near apocalypses…" Penny said, suddenly cheerful again. "…you should get to work on finishing your History project!"

"…History project?" Ruby swallowed dry. "Which one is that, again?"

"The one due for next week, about the founding of Vale and the evolution of its political system since then," Penny said. "You _have_ been working on that, haven't you, Ruby?"

"Oh, yeah! I remember now! Of course I have!" Ruby laughed nervously. "I just, you know, I forgot! 'Cause I did so much work on it on the day the professor gave us the assignment! Which was… very long ago! Yes!"

Penny frowned. "It was last Thursday."

"...Time is relative! And that's also a very important concept in Physics!"

Penny didn't seem very convinced. Luckily, Ruby was saved from further scrutiny by the school bell. She didn't waste a second in getting up and hopping down the stands.

"Let's go, Penny!" she yelled back at her friend. "We wouldn't want to miss any of Chemistry class, would we now?"

"We have Math now, actually," Penny said, joining her.

Ruby grimaced. She should probably stop digging that hole before it was too deep to get herself out of.

* * *

Ruby got up from her chair and stretched her arms above her head, sighing in relief. Another day of class survived. Another five hours of boredom forgotten. Now, she was free.

She picked up her backpack, put it down on her desk and started to fill it with her school supplies, only to stop when she heard giggling behind her. She looked over her shoulder at Penny, sitting a couple rows back, but the ginger was stoic as she retrieved her own things from her desk.

Shrugging, Ruby turned back to her backpack, but as soon as she did, she heard the giggling again. Ruby waited a moment, hesitant to look for the source again. The giggling probably had nothing to do with her, and she if she started looking around, _she_ would look like crazy, and probably a little self-obsessed to boot. Not _everything_ had to be about her.

She put her notebook in her backpack and frowned as her fingers brushed against something foreign. The giggling got louder. Okay, _maybe_ this was about her.

Deciding to get this over with, Ruby grabbed the object and pulled it out – a strip of paper, seemingly torn from a school notebook much like her own, folded several times so its contents were hidden. Oh, great. Secret messages. If she was lucky, this wouldn't be from that one weird fanclub that had been trying to get her to join as president.

Did it even make sense to have her as the president of her own fanclub? Just the fact that she had to ponder that question had her wanting to crawl out of her skin and vanish from the face of Remnant.

"Hey, Ruby," Penny spoke, stopping beside her desk. "You look funny. What have you got there?"

"I'm not sure," Ruby looked around her, and just like before, the giggling immediately ceased. Gosh, the perpetrator really had impeccable timing and self-control. "It may be a fanclub thing."

"You mean the fanclub from Room 8B? Daily reunions from 3 pm to 5?" Penny smiled innocently. "I only know because they invited me. They sounded so eager, I almost joined too!"

Ruby shuddered. As if she wasn't weirded out enough already.

"If it is a fanclub thing, as you say, there is no harm in just reading it," Penny said, looking over Ruby's shoulder. "Furthermore, if it is something else, we want to know about it."

"We do?" Ruby looked at the strip of paper. "I'm not so sure. You know, there's this thing called _fanfiction_ and I've made no small effort to avoid it. No. Small. Effort."

"Fanfiction, you say?" Penny tilted her head a little. "I shall research that later."

"No, Penny, please don't-"

"I see you're nervous, friend. Here, allow me to help."

Ruby had no room to object, Penny just took the paper from her hands and opened it. She read it over twice, her eyes dashing left and right astoundingly twice, then looked up at Ruby.

"Mr. _slash_ Ms. Secret Admirer cordially asks you to be their partner for the end-of-year dance," Penny said. "Might I ask, Ruby, who is _Secret Admirer_?"

Ruby couldn't be more mortified. "I don't know. I think that's the point."

"But if someone were to attend the event with you, wouldn't you have to know who they are?" Penny noted. "This note seems very ineffective as a courting mechanism."

Ruby turned as a pale as ghost. "Courting mechanism…?"

"I don't recognize Mr. _slash_ Ms. Secret Admirer's handwriting. Perhaps I could ask for a sample from our classmates and match them. If that doesn't suffice, a suitable next step would be to expand the search into the other third years classes," Penny said. "What do you think, Ruby? Does my plan sound… _sound_?" she blinked. "Hmm, that phrase needs a little troubleshooting."

"Honestly, Penny? You can keep the note. Do whatever you want with it – hang it on a wall; burn it and toss the ashes off a cliff - have a field day!" Ruby shook her head fervently. "I don't want anything to do with it."

"But why? Sure, Mr. _slash_ Ms. Secret Admirer doesn't seem particularly bright, but their intent is genuine at least," Penny raised a finger. "The end-of-year dance is an important event in every Valesian's life. It's a moment to be cherished forever – and having a partner who so wants to go with you that they would ask months prior could make for an even better memory," she crossed her arms. "Your reaction confuses me, Ruby. Why would you refuse Mr. _slash_ Ms. Secret Admirer?"

"For the same reason I'm not the president of Fanclub Rose," Ruby said with finality. "Nope. Not gonna happen."

Penny pursed her lips and looked at Ruby thoughtfully, no doubt making some analysis in her head about that response. Ruby was just glad the conversation was over, for now at least.

Even before the Grimm and Beacon and superpowers, Ruby hadn't been much for dances and any such events. She just wasn't into it – she rarely liked the music, standing around was a bore, dancing was a no-no, and there was _way too much_ human interaction all at once. That, and she was always left out during school dances. She had no doubt that flipping that around and having her be the center of attention for a whole night wouldn't be any better. In fact, that sounded _much_ worse.

"Well, _I_ am looking forward to being invited to the dance," Penny said dreamingly. "So exciting! I wonder if I'll have a Mr. _slash_ Ms. Secret Admirer of my own…"

"Let's hope that happens, yeah…" Ruby sighed. "I'm gonna be getting a lot more of these, aren't I?"

"It doesn't strike me as an isolated incident, no," Penny said. "All the more time for you to change your mind!"

"Ugh. I'm just gonna go. And pretend there wasn't a bunch of people giggling behind my back all that time," Ruby took a quick look over her shoulder, but her classmates weren't even looking at her. "Drat. I will catch you eventually," she looked back at Penny. "I'm going to the mall to buy some stuff for my cos- uniform. Wanna come?"

"Hmm?" Penny looked startled at the invitation. "Oh, I do. Unfortunately, I cannot."

"Why not?" Ruby asked.

"It's my father. We have plans for today," Penny replied, joining her hands behind her back. "Also, I have to finish the History project. Remember?"

" _Sure_ , I remember. I'll… also be working on that today!" Ruby nodded. "See you tomorrow, then!"

"Yes! Have a good day, friend Ruby!"

Penny smiled widely at her, then left the classroom, full bag hanging over her shoulder. Ruby scratched the back of her neck, thinking Penny seemed to spend an awful lot of time with her father. That wasn't a bad thing, but it was a little odd. Maybe she still felt a little out of sorts after moving from her childhood home into a whole new country.

Oh, well. Ruby liked Penny just the way she was. With time, they would grow closer, and Penny wouldn't be so hesitant to spend more time with her. Ruby didn't have much experience when it came to friendships, but of that, she was sure.

* * *

"Thanks again! Nope, I don't need another bag. Thanks. Nope, I can carry this myself. Yep. Nope. Thanks! Bye!"

Ruby slipped out of the fabric store and closed the door behind her, leaning back against it for a moment. She could still hear the shopkeeper lady squealing in excitement inside, and soon came sounds of typing and camera flashes and all sorts of things Ruby would rather not have happening around her.

At least she'd been able to refuse the really, _really_ unfair discounts. The lady had looked devastated, but Ruby didn't let that get to her. She was better than that. Besides, her father would kill her if he found out she was taking advantage of her fame – even if she was being pressured into it…

Unfortunately, her respite wouldn't last long. Patch Central Mall was, as always, filled to the brim with people doing business or eating out for lunch. Naturally, Ruby soon was the target of many passersby's attentions, not a small number taking photos or approaching her outright.

Ruby made a half-attempt of a wave, then blew a strand of hair from her eyes and walked away from the store, each step faster than the last. She should have just ordered online! This was why she hated going out these days!

 _Nearest exist, nearest exit – don't use your Semblance! – nearest exist, nearest exit…_

At last! A set of automatics doors, and beyond them, blessed sidewalk and honking cars! Ruby sped up even further, turning a corner and making it straight for the exit…

And crashed against a shopping cart, knocking it over and falling on the floor herself. Her Aura protected her from any real injury… but it couldn't protect her from the awful sting of shame. Moving to her knees, Ruby straightened out her shirt and hair, then looked around at the many products spread out on the floor.

"Oh, are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

Ruby blinked and looked up, meeting eyes with an older woman. "Uhm, no, I'm okay. Is… is this your stuff? I'm so sorry! Here, I'll get it for you-"

"Nevermind that! Sweetheart, would you be so kind as to pick up our things?" the woman looked down, and a little boy appeared from behind her and started gathering the fallen products. "You're sure you're not hurt? There's no shame in it, I wasn't looking either."

"No, I'm really fine," Ruby got up. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay!"

Ruby shook her head and joined the little boy in recovering the woman's items. Luckily, nothing seemed damaged. Ruby still felt bad, but that at least was a small comfort.

A couple minutes later, the cart was up again with all its contents in it. The little boy gave Ruby a wide-eyed stare, then went back to his mother and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Thank you for the help," the woman said. "Let's both remember to be more careful in the future, yeah?"

Ruby gave her a small smile. "Yep!" She looked at the little boy and winked. "Although, that was kinda fun, wasn't it?"

The boy's eyes widened even more, but then he smiled at her and giggled. The mother looked startled, and for a moment Ruby feared she'd done something wrong. Mothers were very protective of their children, weren't they? Oh no…

"That's…" the woman gave a little gasp, as if she couldn't believe the situation. "He hasn't looked that bright in months."

"Huh?" Ruby frowned. "I'm sorry…?"

"Oh, it's nothing to do with you. He's just been very quiet since… _that_." The mother gestured up, then mouthed _Vale_.

Realization dawned on her, and Ruby didn't quite know what to say. She hadn't had anyone approach her with this before. It was always about how awesome she was, or her teammates… This was new.

"Yeah, uhm… that was definitely scary," Ruby said slowly. "I'm sorry about that."

"Why are you sorry? You didn't cause it," the woman ruffled her boy's hair. "The crash I understand, but there's nothing you can do about _that_."

"Well, I just… feel bad?" Ruby swallowed dry. "But everything's gonna be okay, you know? There are people who are taking care of that stuff. Good, powerful people! They're not gonna let anything happen to your son."

"I heard something about that. Some heroes…" the mother smiled sadly. "But with everything we saw, it is difficult to believe, don't you think?"

Rendered silent, Ruby could only watch as the boy stuck even closer to his mother. A lump formed in her throat, her eyes beginning to sting as a helpless fury rose inside her.

"I'm sorry to bother you about this. What a terrible thing to say to a stranger, especially a lovely young woman such as you," the mother said. "Thank you, and have a nice day."

Ruby nodded. The mother pushed the cart past her, the boy giving her one last look before they turned the corner. She could swear he saw something in his eyes then. Recognition?

Or maybe she was just imagining things.

* * *

The front door opened with a bang, and closed within the second with just as much noise. Taiyang was so startled, he almost tossed his mixing spoon away, soup included.

"Ruby Rose!" he yelled out. "What did we discuss about doors and manners?!"

Ruby popped into the kitchen, a few petals littering the floor around her feet. "Sorry, Dad! I didn't mean it."

"Did you not mean to use your powers either?" He pointed at the petals with his spoon, then noticed it had soup in it and licked it clean. "You're gonna sweep that floor yourself, young lady."

"Okay! Later!" Ruby exclaimed.

"What do you mean later? Food's almost ready! Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"My room! I have a call to make!"

"Well, your phone's not going anywhere, so-"

Midway through his sentence, Ruby sped off, the noise of her running up the stairs and into her room echoing throughout the house. Taiyang sighed. He appreciated her energy, but Ruby could do with some slowing down sometimes, especially recently.

By the time Ruby came back, he was done preparing lunch and about to set the table. To her credit, she helped him with that without his asking – which should be a given, but kids will be kids, and with how excited she was, Taiyang wouldn't have been surprised if she had forgotten.

"So, a call?" he asked, setting down their plates. "What about?"

"I was calling Lisa Lavender back," Ruby said. "I confirmed the interview and we talked about how that's gonna go and stuff. She said she could come over here for it, but I told her that wasn't necessary. I mean, she can't be that comfortable moving around these days – not that I said that to her. Plus, I'm sure she's got a bunch more stuff to do other than talk to me. So I'm flying over to Vale this weekend!"

As she paused to catch her breath, their eyes met, and Ruby was quick to look away, now twiddling her thumbs nervously under the table.

"I mean, if that's okay with you…"

"You should have asked _before_ making plans, little lady," Taiyang rolled his eyes. "But alright. It's not like skipping around the globe is a novelty with you these days. At least this time you won't be fighting monsters," he pointed a finger at her. "You're coming back home as soon as that business of yours is over."

"Yes I am, sir!" Ruby nodded solemnly.

"Good. Because, while I am sure Lavender is a very busy woman, you also have your own obligations," Taiyang said. "You should get your school work in check before leaving. I know _I_ can't stand the headmaster glaring a hole into the back of my skull anymore."

"Yep!" Ruby smiled at him. "Also, I bought the stuff I need for my new uniform. Except I don't know a single thing about sewing or… whatever it is that people do to make clothes…"

"You want me to help you?" Taiyang rubbed his forehead, feeling tired already. "Scratch that. You want me to do it for you?"

Ruby's smile only grew. "Pleeease?"

Taiyang knew well he should refuse. Ruby had become fairly independent these past years, but there were some things which she remained absolutely clueless about. It was his responsibility as a father to make sure she grew past that. Plus, she had to learn that, in the real world, a puppy-eyed look was _not_ going to get her everything she wanted.

"Daad?" She scooted closer. "Do it for your _sweetest_ daughter?"

Taiyang sighed. "You can show me after lunch."

"Yay! Best dad ever!" Ruby sat down and took her fork and knife, then looked at him expectantly. "Serve me?"

He looked up at the ceiling guiltily. This girl was doomed. "…Yeah, what do you want?"

* * *

It was admirable how quickly Vale had rebuilt. Cinder and the Grimm's attack had been contained to a small area – all thanks to the Hunt's quick and effective interference, of course! – but it had been devastating nonetheless. Ruby remembered the streets looking like they were ripped straight out of a post-apocalyptic movie, and a very bleak one at that.

Yet two months later, it was like it had never happened. There was a building under construction here and there, and some billboards being reinstalled, but that was just par for the course in the big city. And the VNN? Suffice it to say, Ruby nearly walked past the building without recognizing it. In her defense, it had been swarming with monsters the last time she'd been there. Also, there had been an evil maniac who had tried to stab her multiple times.

That last part really stuck in her mind, for some reason.

Going inside, Ruby found the entrance lobby as busy as she had expected, and just as unsurprising, as soon as she had a foot there, dozens of curious eyes fixed on her, and more than a few camera flashes followed.

"Lovely," she muttered under her breath, making a beeline straight for the reception desk at the other side of the lobby, trying to ignore the unwanted attention coming from all around her. "Hi!"

The receptionist mumbled something unintelligible, clearly bored out of her mind as she typed on her keyboard. She took her eyes off the screen for just long enough to look Ruby up and down once, then dully asked, "How may I help you?"

"I have an, uh… appointment, I guess, with Lisa Lavender?" Ruby said hesitantly.

"Hmm. _The_ Lisa Lavender?" the receptionist looked at her again, this time focusing on the red tips of Ruby's hair. "The famous, award-winning, _inhumanly busy_ , Lisa Lavender?"

"Yeah, that one. Isn't saying _inhumanly_ racially insensitive? 'Cause, you know, faunus are just like anyone else, but you're implying that…" Ruby trailed off. "My name's Ruby. Ruby Rose." She mimed a karate chop, then smiled at the woman. "I kill monsters!"

" _Hmmm_. Don't we all now?"

While Ruby tried to decipher the meaning of that response, the receptionist looked at her screen and clicked a few times, then made the most lifeless nod Ruby had ever seen and gestured to an elevator to their right.

"Sixth floor. You'll find your way from there."

"I don't know, I think you might be expecting too much of me!" Ruby laughed nervously. The receptionist raised an eyebrow at her, then returned her attention to the computer. "Oookay. Good talk."

Ruby walked to the elevator and called it down, then waited patiently, all the while casting furtive looks back at the reception desk. If that was how unhappy most adults turned out with their lives, Ruby was glad she had chosen a more exotic line of work. Though she did wonder if she would eventually get bored of killing Grimm. Eh, she would probably die before that happened.

 _Optimism_!

She got in the elevator, then exited at the sixth floor into a smaller lobby. This time, she didn't have to look around long, as another receptionist called her attention and gave her directions to a room nearby.

Inside, Ruby was caught off-guard by how inviting the set was. She had been expecting something like she saw in the news, with Lisa sitting behind her desk and herself on the other side. Instead, there were two armchairs set against a glass background, allowing a view of the city skyline. The cameras were stationed far away from them, and the crew was fairly small for such an anticipated interview.

"Ah! Miss Rose. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Ruby looked away from the cameras and saw Lisa Lavender approaching in her wheelchair. She looked genuinely pleased to see her, which reassured Ruby that she had made the right choice after all.

"Miss Lavender!" Ruby offered her hand. "I-it's also a pleasure!"

"Please, call me Lisa," the older woman smiled. "You're taller than I was led to believe."

"I am?" Ruby shuffled her feet, trying not to look as awkward as she felt. "Or is that a joke…?"

"Perhaps. You'd have to wonder who the butt of it is, though," Lisa winked at her, then turned around in her wheelchair. "I'm glad you came, Miss Rose. I must admit I didn't expect much when I called with the offer, as none of your teammates agreed."

So she had contacted the others too? That was news to Ruby. One more reason why living away from the team sucked. "None of them? Not even Jaune? And Yang?"

"Mr. Arc was too nervous, I'm afraid. As for your sister… I think she's been getting calls from some rather _unsavory_ agencies as of late, and that's gotten her a little… irritable."

"Huh. She didn't tell me any- oh no," Ruby gasped. " _Oooh no_! Okay, I'm _glad_ she didn't share that with me."

"I'm sorry for breaking the news," Lisa smirked. "We're already set up for the interview, but first we should see to your makeup."

"Makeup?" Ruby winced. "Right, that's a thing…"

Lisa shook her head. "It's not necessary. If you're uncomfortable with it, we can get started right away."

"No, it's okay. If I'm gonna appear on TV, I should try to look good," Ruby bit her lip. "We're not doing it live, right?"

"As we agreed, we're going to record the conversation now, and air an edited version tonight. If you want to, we can show you the final product beforehand, to see if you'd like anything changed…"

Ruby was fairly sure this wasn't how guests were usually treated by the VNN, or any news network, for that matter. They really were going out of their way to make her comfortable. Or maybe that was just the work of Lisa Lavender.

Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad, after all.

* * *

"Let's start small, shall we? I'd like to know more about you, before you became who are you today."

The question was tricky, though Ruby doubted it had been intended that way. The memories felt like they had been borrowed from a stranger, such a wild and sudden turn her life had taken.

She used to spend all her days tinkering with stuff, and watching movies and playing games, which were the fuel of constant daydreaming. She still did those things today, but they weren't as… important, anymore. It was almost like she had been waiting for that turn – the daydreams might not have been just dreams, after all.

"And that _turn_ – when did it happen? There are reports of _the Red Bolt_ dating back almost two years, but was that an immediate change or did it take a while for you to jump into that?"

Almost immediate. It was quite embarrassing, actually. It had taken, what, a week for her to go out and get herself in trouble beating up bad guys? She'd only told her sister about her powers _after_ the crimefighting started!

Managing priorities wasn't one of Ruby's strengths.

"Really? It seems like such a sudden and, quite frankly, _frightening_ change in anyone's life, let alone a fifteen-years-old girl's. Not to be superficial, but when I was that age, I was losing my mind over high school crushes and getting good grades. I can't even imagine what I would have done in your place."

Eh. She'd never cared too much about all that stuff. Yeah, she was a little freaked out when it happened, but then… Superpowers? What could be better?

"But there is quite a jump between being excited about these new superpowers and using them to stop crime. How does a girl make that decision so fast, and never goes back on it?"

There had never really been a choice, honestly. At least not a conscious one. Ruby had known what to do with her powers the moment she figured out she wasn't like everyone else anymore.

"But how did you know that?"

Her mother, she guessed. And her father too, but in a different way.

If she had the power to help people and make the world a better place, there wasn't really a question. She had to do it.

"So it's a moral obligation? But that seems like a terribly heavy burden for anyone to shoulder, alone or otherwise."

She didn't do it because it was an obligation. It didn't feel like that at all. She had put herself on that path, and that had been her choice and hers alone.

"Fair enough. But it can't be always be so easy to live with that. There must be times when you wish your life would go back to how it was before, and you didn't have to fight anymore."

Maybe. But it was never that serious. Ruby was happy with her life. She wouldn't change it for the world.

"But if you _were_ to grow tired, wouldn't you then feel obligated to keep fighting? Would you see stopping the same as giving up and letting people down?"

Hmm.

No.

"Okay. You're very resolute, I see. But, and this is purely hypothetical, if there was a time for you to put down your arms and settle down, for good, when would that be? Or is that completely outside the realms of possibility?"

* * *

" _I guess… If I have to answer, and I don't think this could ever actually happen… The only time I would feel okay retiring would be when there are no more Grimm left. Because, without Grimm… there's no evil._ "

" _Except that's completely impossible. As long as there's evil, there's Grimm. And that's why I'll never ever retire._ "

" _But at least that's a good thing to shoot for. Like a goal. A dream! So I'll keep killing those monsters over and over and over again, and who knows, one day they might just run out and I'll be like – bummer. Back to the arcade!_ "

And she laughs.

Rewind.

"- _I'll keep killing those monsters over and over and over again, and who knows_ -"

Rewind.

"- _over and over and over_ -"

Rewind.

" _-those monsters_ -"

The controller broke under his trembling fist, and he was forced to listen to the rest of her little speech again, that abominable laughter included, filling him with rage and making his head ring…

He picked up a wrench from his worktable and tossed it at the screen, shattering it and shutting off its light, leaving him in complete darkness. In the pitch black, the only thing that remained visible was his pet's eyes, red as his own one.

"Get it all out, little girl."

He grinned.

"We'll see how long that laughter lasts."

* * *

Ruby walked out of the VNN with a little smile on her lips. She'd just finished watching the interview go live, and it hadn't been half as embarrassing as she had imagined. Sure, there had plenty of awkward moments throughout, but maybe that was just how she was seeing them.

The team seemed to agree, which was what gave her the most confidence. Yang had practically responded live to the interview, beeping Ruby's scroll constantly. Pyrrha and Jaune had also sent their support. Even Weiss had complimented her " _sufficiently satisfactory performance_ " and " _remarkable ability to not completely embarrass the rest of us_ ".

It was a shame Blake had yet to say anything. Maybe she was busy with something.

Now, she should probably go home. She could get a jet ride from Beacon to Patch, but… she didn't want to bother anyone. And running was good exercise.

 _And_ … that would give her an opportunity to do some Hunting on the way. She might as well. She was brimming with determination after the conversation with Lisa – why wasn't her Crescent Rose buried in a Beowolf's face already?!

She would be home by morning.

* * *

 **Spoilers: she definitely won't lol  
**

 **Sorry for the long wait. I hate to do that at the very start of a story, but I had a lot of little things I wanted to establish in this chapter without making it a disjointed mess. Things should be more straightforward from now on, so upcoming chapters will hopefully come at a speedier rate.**

 **I might write a bonus feature of the complete interview with Ruby - but I might also expand that a little to include some other ideas of mine...**

 **So now we have an idea of who the villain is. Some of you might not have recognized him immediately, so I'll just go ahead and tell you he very clearly is Zwei.**

 **Learn the lore, people.**

 **-Zeroan  
**


	3. The Itch

Ruby's eyes fluttered open. She groaned and squirmed to the side, trying to protect herself from an intense light that fell on her face. As she moved, she felt her cape twist and drag, pressed between her back and a rough surface. She raised a hand to block the light, and finally able to see properly, started to make sense of where she was.

She only _started_ to, because even as her mind cleared up, things were still pretty damn confusing to her. Why was she leaning against a tree by the side of the road? A road that she had no recollection of? And why was she in her uniform, with Crescent Rose lying on the dirt beside her, not even in its folded form?

Most importantly, where was that infernal noise coming from?

Ruby stood up and flexed her arms, shaking off those last stubborn vestiges of sleep in her, then bent down to pick up Crescent Rose. With great horror and disgust, she noticed there was dirt on the weapon, from the blade to the grip and everything in-between. How could she have been so careless with her most prized possession? Oh, if she could talk to her past self, she would give her a piece of her mind, she would!

The noise started again, and like a switch had been turned on inside her head, she suddenly recognized it as one of her favorite songs – and her ringtone. She nearly dropped her Scroll getting it out of her pocket, and cast only a cursory glance at the screen – _Yang_ – before taking the call.

"Hey-" Ruby coughed, her throat feeling tired and dry. She took a deep breath, then tried again. "Hey! It's me."

" _Ruby! Finally, you picked up!_ " Yang shouted, causing Ruby to flinch at the loudness of her voice. " _What took you so long?_ "

"What do you mean what took me so long?"

A truck came speeding down the road, blowing Ruby's hair against her face and deafening Yang's voice. "- _calling for hours. I was starting to have flashbacks, Ruby! Bad, bad flashbacks!_ "

"Sorry. I was sleeping and didn't hear, I guess," Ruby said. "Why are you even calling, though? We talked just yesterday."

" _Yeah, and you told me you were leaving right after the interview aired. You also told_ Dad _that you'd be home_ by breakfast. _It's almost two now, Ruby! What the hell?_ "

Ruby took her Scroll off her ear for a moment to look at the time. Yep. It was _way_ past breakfast. She looked around, a terrible guilt sinking to the pit of her stomach as she realized how badly she'd screwed up.

"R-right. I'm sorry," Ruby said. "I must have lost track of time…"

" _Lost track of- Ruby, don't lie to me. I'm not stupid. Did you stay up all night hunting Grimm?_ "

"…Yeah. There were a lot, and I was already out, so…" Ruby trailed off. She probably shouldn't mention where she'd ended up sleeping. "I did lose track of time, though. But I'm all awake now and ready to go!"

" _Go right back home, you mean_ ," Yang huffed. " _God, Ruby. You know there's already people to take care of the Grimm. You know, the Hunt,_ your team _? And Beacon! Things are under control! You're not fifteen anymore, you should know-_ "

"I know!" Ruby interrupted, not meaning to get so angry, but she couldn't help but feel attacked. Yes, she had screwed up, but she'd only had good intentions. "I know, okay? I told you I'm sorry. And I _am_ coming home."

" _Dad won't stop calling, so you'd better!_ "

Ruby heard something break, then another voice yell in surprise. Her shoulders dropped, all anger gone in a split second. Before she could try and apologize, Yang spoke again, her voice uncharacteristically quiet.

" _Whatever. I've got stuff to do._ "

Ruby tried to say something to appease her sister, but Yang had already hung up on her. Dismayed, Ruby lowered her phone. She couldn't remember the last time Yang had been so angry at her. The worst part was, she wasn't overreacting. Yang was undeniably in the right, and Ruby knew it.

She had made a stupid mistake, and there was nothing she could do to change that. The only thing to do now was to accept that, and try to make up for it.

Hopefully, her dad wouldn't be quite as angry at her.

* * *

The problem, as it turned out, was not her father being angry, because he wasn't. Of course he wasn't, and Ruby should have figured that would be the case. Just like that other night, Taiyang Xiao Long could only be proud of her.

And also just like then, Ruby was filled with shame. Sitting on the living room sofa, she could barely find the strength to look away from her own lap, his stare from the armchair beside her having a paralyzing effect on her body. It would have been so much easier if he was angry.

So, so much _easier_.

"I'm sorry, Dad," Ruby said, her voice barely a whisper. "I'm really, really sorry."

"I can see it from your face, and your… well, your everything," Taiyang said. "Why do you think I'm not chewing you out?"

Ruby was plenty sure that wasn't the only reason she was being spared. In fact, she was confident that, even if she weren't so obviously sorry, he still wouldn't be angry at her. That only made the shame worse, of course.

"No, Dad. I really mean it this time," Ruby said. "I'm sorry I disappointed you again."

"Ruby, you know you've never disappointed me. The day I'm the slightest bit disappointed in you will be the day I… That day won't come," he paused. "I was a little upset, of course I was. But that was only because I was worried about you… and I really wanted us to have that dinner together. But as soon as I knew you were safe and coming home – _bam_ , no bad feelings anymore."

"Are you serious, Dad? You're really not angry or disappointed or anything?" Ruby asked, and she had to grasp her wrists to stop her arms from shaking. "I don't mind if you are. You'd totally be in the right. So please don't lie to me just to make me feel better."

Taiyang got up from his chair and sat down beside her, passing an arm around her shoulders. Ruby looked up at him, and was almost undone by the warm smile on his lips.

"I'm not lying. I promise," he said. "Just tell me one thing, and I want you to tell me truth, no matter what. Okay?"

"Okay…" Ruby frowned, getting a little apprehensive now.

"You're proud of what you do, right? When you go out there to kill all those Grimm and save people, and you miss dinner and schoolwork and everything… Is it all worth it? Is that why you push yourself so hard?"

Ruby looked away, feeling very self-conscious all of a sudden. The answer came to mind rather fast, but she supposed any answer that was so easily found was never completely true. Most things were complicated. Her life, definitely, was very complicated.

"Yeah. I feel like I'm making a difference. A real difference," Ruby said. "I mean, it is kinda hard to see. The Grimm aren't stopping anytime soon, and people are still freaking out about them everywhere. But then I think, if I weren't doing the things I do… how worse would the situation be?" she nodded. "As long as I'm making people's lives better, everything is worth it!"

Taiyang stared at her for a moment, as if he were dissecting the answer inside his head. Ruby couldn't tell if he had liked it, but he didn't appear unhappy, which was a step in the right direction, slight as it may be.

"And you're happy with all that stuff?" he asked. "I don't want you to feel that you have to keep going on and on and on. There's a difference between feeling like you're accomplishing something and feeling happy with yourself."

"No, I'm pretty happy," Ruby said surely. "It's hard work, but it makes me happy." Her eyes narrowed. "Dad, you _did_ watch my interview?"

"Of course I did!" Taiyang raised a hand to his mouth, abhorred. "I'm just making sure you're not putting on a tough act." He got up and smiled down at her. "Look, as long as you're happy, I'm happy. That's all that matters."

Ruby couldn't help but smile, every bad feeling that had been weighing her down since waking up suddenly gone. She still needed to clear things up with Yang, but aside from that, everything was great.

In fact, she hadn't felt this well since the whole Vale incident!

"Now, you still have school, and the work that comes with it. I'm assuming you weren't telling me the whole truth when you told me you had gotten everything in order before leaving for the interview," Taiyang said, assuming a sterner tone of voice. "I'd better see that rectified soon, and then we'll _finally_ have dinner together."

"Wow, so you're just assuming I'm lying about school now?" Ruby faked a gasp. "You're lucky I'm too old to develop serious daddy issues anymore."

"Oh, please. Spare me," Taiyang rolled his eyes. "I know what you're doing, Ruby Rose. You're not gonna distract me from the issue. Unless you can prove to me you actually did your work?"

Drat. If only Ruby could do that. She _had_ done some of the work before leaving, but she'd given up on pretty much half of it. Not to mention that huge History project due for Friday, which she hadn't even started working on yet.

Yeah, she _probably_ should see about that now…

"Heh. I can see I've cornered you," Taiyang boasted. "Children are so oh so easy to predict!"

Ruby stuck her tongue out at him, then bolted up the stairs.

"I knew you were going to do that too!" Taiyang yelled after her.

"Go read your newspaper, old man!" Ruby screamed, entering her room and slamming the door shut behind her.

* * *

The next few days flew by like leaves in the wind, come and gone in what felt like seconds, and all that remained of them were vague memories – mainly, memories of a feeling. A feeling of wholeness, of true presence, which Ruby hadn't realized she had been missing for so long.

She still felt that itch to ditch everything and go hunting Grimm, but that was much lesser now. At school, Ruby didn't find herself as bored as before, and even managed to pay genuine attention to a class here or there. The attention from her classmates, even boosted by her appearance on TV, didn't bother her as much either. For the first time in years, she felt like herself again in that environment she had come to dread.

After school, Ruby finally got to hang out with Penny, by the foreign girl's suggestion no less. They went to an ice cream shop, and afterwards the arcade at the mall, and despite her odd mannerisms and occasional lack of sense regarding personal space, Penny turned out to be great company. It felt nice to hang out with someone outside of school or work – it was that day that Ruby fully realized that Penny and her truly were friends.

And at home, she wasn't jumping at every opportunity to escape and get back to the fight. She did her homework, made steady progress on her History project, helped her father with getting her new uniform made, even watched a movie or two. Ruby also made up with Yang over the phone, and there was no problem there at all – not that she had expected any.

Things were going better than ever.

Until the itch came back in full force.

* * *

It snuck up on her Thursday night, as she worked furiously on the project. It was due tomorrow, and like the genius she was, Ruby had chosen to get the easy parts done first, and leave the hardest for last. It had sounded smart at the time. Now, not so much.

To her credit, she was actually making good progress. It helped that she had chosen an easy subject to focus the project on – it wasn't like she wanted to impress anyone, she just wanted to get it done. Despite all odds, it looked like she might actually finish on time.

And then her Scroll started beeping. Ruby grabbed it, her only the intention to turn it off, but she made the mistake of looking at the screen. A Breach, right on Patch Island. There was a Beacon team already scheduled to take care of it. Nothing that demanded any concern from her.

Ruby put her phone down on her desk and pushed it away, returning her attention to her computer screen and the document waiting to be finished. Her focus, however, was already waning. With one brief glance back at the Scroll, it vanished altogether.

She pulled back on her chair, looking towards her uniform, hanging on her closet's handles, and Crescent Rose, on her bedtable. If she was quick about it – the Breach would open in an hour – she could get there before then – it wouldn't take long to kill the Grimm – she could be back home in no time! – it wouldn't even take that much time to finish the project…

She didn't _need_ to leave. The issue was already under control. But…

In a flurry of petals, Ruby changed into her uniform and grabbed her scythe, then ran out of the house. Her eyes sparked with determination.

* * *

"Oh, Ruby, friend. You look a little pale. Are you sick, perhaps?"

Ruby shrunk in her seat. She felt bad just looking at Penny. "Is it that obvious?"

"Oh no! You are sick, then!" Penny grabbed her wrist. "Don't fret, friend! I will escort you to the infirmary!"

"No! Penny, that's not it…" Ruby said. "It's about my project…"

She nodded at the stack of papers on her desk. Penny looked at it for a moment, reading the cover, then shifted her attention back to Ruby. "It looks fine to me. Do I have permission to fully peruse its contents?"

"Uh… Sure? _Peruse_ all you want," Ruby said. "I don't think you'll have the time, though, the professor will be coming any – oh okay you're already reading it."

Ruby expected Penny to give the project a quick scan, but she went through every page with utmost attention, becoming so still it was almost eerie – the only thing that moved were her eyes, and they did so astonishingly fast.

"Thank you," Penny put the paper down. "Please, wait a second for my analysis."

"Wait, you already read it?" Ruby's eyes widened. "And I-I don't need an analysis! Actually, I'd prefer if you spared me-"

"The structure was up to standard, and the vocabulary was an unexpected highlight," Penny said. "However, everything else was less than satisfactory. You developed many good points, but you failed to piece them together in any meaningful way. It left the impression that something major was missing. Furthermore, some sections felt short and awfully rushed," she paused. "It's almost like you _didn't_ take advantage of all the time we were given by the professor, and instead left the bulk of the work to the last possible minute."

Ruby sighed. "I'm sorry, Penny. You did remind me all the time, but I just kept delaying it more and more…" She shook her head. "I deserve a big, round _zero_."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll get a three at most!" Penny smiled at her. Ruby wasn't sure whether she was being vindictive, or if she expected that to actually comfort her. "I don't think any less of you, Ruby – we are friends, after all! – but I think you should dedicate yourself a little more to these things. It can only do you good, and it builds character! Not that I would know, but I've read about it."

"You're not wrong," Ruby said. "At least we don't have any more big projects this year."

She felt a little guilty thinking about it. It was hunting Grimm which had gotten her into this situation in the first place, after all. But she was glad to have more time on her hands now. Ruby Rose was free to do all her Huntress goodness, and there was nothing stopping her anymore!

"Perhaps we should do something about this unfortunate occasion?" Penny said. "You can't fix your mistake, but we can hang out later to have fun. Having fun is a great way to forget your mistakes. You'll remember later, of course, and you'll feel dumb then, but that's life for you."

"Thanks? That was very… insightful, Penny," Ruby said. "Hanging out does sound fun, but… I have something planned already. Sorry."

"No problem, friend. I have a back-up plan for myself which is just as entertaining," Penny pointed at her desk, and the ridiculously large tome that was her own History project. "Who would have ever guessed studying was so fun?"

"Definitely not me," Ruby said. She was impressed, but also more than a little disturbed.

"If you don't mind me asking, what is it that you have planned, Ruby?" Penny asked.

Ruby smiled.

* * *

"Hyah!" Yang yelled, thrusting out a fist. "To the depths of hell with you, vile demon!"

The Ursa went skidding back through the field, crimson smoke spewing out of its ruined snout. It yelled in a mixture of pain and fury and fell on all fours, clawing at the ground, flinging dirt all around itself. Then, with another roar, it charged at her again – and was suddenly sliced in two, turning to smoke amidst a cloud of rose petals.

"Hey! No fair!" Yang shook her fist at Ruby as she reformed. "That one was mine, you thief!"

"Was it yours?" Ruby asked, feigning surprise. "Well, I'm gonna steal a bunch more if you don't speed up! Including that one behind you!"

Yang started turning, but Ruby was already speeding past her, and by the time Yang looked, the Beowolf had already been turned to smoke. Ruby fixed Crescent Rose on the ground and leaned on it, staring innocently at her sister.

"You realize your Semblance is literally about _speeding up_?" Yang asked. "How am I supposed to compete with that?"

"Hmm? Oh, sorry, I don't have my excuses-to-English dictionary on me right now," Ruby said. "Could you repeat that, _ve-ry slow-ly_?"

Yang huffed. "Alright, you little scamp-"

"Hey, one more!"

Activating her Semblance, Ruby quickly reappeared above another Beowolf approaching from Yang's right and shot it in the face. Yang rolled her eyes and sat down on the ground, resigning herself to just watching her little sister work.

"You know, this isn't how most siblings make peace after a fight," Yang said. "We could have gone shopping or something like that. Not that this isn't fun, but _normal_ never hurts."

"This is our normal, though," Ruby noted, taking a brief break between Grimm. "Also, with your crazy schedule, who knows when we'd have the chance to hang out!"

"My schedule isn't crazy, though," Yang frowned. "I have plenty of free time."

Ruby didn't seem to hear her, too busy retrieving her blade from the belly of a knocked-over Boarbatusk.

"I'm sad Jaune and Pyrrha didn't come," Ruby said. "I miss them too."

"Yeah, they have their own assignments. If you ask me, that's probably for the better," Yang grinned. "Those two need some time apart every once in a while, for their health. Pyrrha's mostly."

"Man, I wish I could live with you all already," Ruby sighed. "The Hunt Tower sounds a million times more fun than boring old Patch."

"Well, Patch has ice cream and cheap movie tickets and it doesn't smell like trash. Vale is like… _yuck_ ," Yang shuddered. "You'll get over it fast once you're actually there."

"Doubt it!"

Ruby flew over to a pack of Beowolves and cut them down, then landed on her feet and looked up at the portal above them. It was moderately big still, but the Grimm would probably stop coming soon.

"Also, don't forget Patch has Dad," Yang said. "I know I seem all tough and grown up, Ruby-"

" _Pfff_!"

"But I'm really a big softie on the inside. I miss our old man," Yang finished. "Speaking of, he's not still mad about your hijinks, is he?"

Ruby turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean? He was never mad."

"Oh. Well, yeah. I guess _mad_ isn't the right word," Yang said. "It's just that, whenever we talk about you over the phone, he sounds kinda… I don't know, worried?"

Ruby frowned, and immediately Yang felt like she had said something she shouldn't have. There was still time to fix things, though!

"I'm probably imagining things," Yang said. "You do kill monsters for a living, so I think it's only expected that he'd worry about you." She pouted. "Not me, of course, 'cause who cares if _Yang_ gets bonked in the head..."

"I'm sure he worries about you, Yang!" Ruby exclaimed. "The thing is, you're all tough and grown up now, so it wouldn't be cool if he treated you like a baby!"

Yang glared at her. "You know, I don't remember you being this much of a smartass."

The Breach grew suddenly, showering the area around it in red, before releasing a big drop of black goo from it. The substance hit the dirt and quickly took the form of a gorilla-like Grimm – a Beringel.

"Oh hey, it's one of our favorites!" Ruby said. "Wanna tag in, sis?"

"A chance to help out on my own assignment?!" Yang got up, dusting off her knees. "Gosh, Ruby, such an honor. I'm ecstatic!" She raised her fists. "Okay, so I go in first, and then you go around and catch it when-"

Ruby turned into petals and surged at the Beringel, crashing against its chest. As she reformed, she spun her scythe around and slammed it on the Grimm's forehead, knocking it down. Kneeling on its chest, Ruby brought Crescent Rose down one last time, burying the blade on the Beringel's eyes, then jerked it to the side, ripping the creature's head apart.

She skipped out of the ensuing smoke and smiled at the fuming Yang.

"I got excited."

* * *

Ruby spent the rest of the day, and the weekend after, hunting with Yang. She was surprised how fast Yang's fatigue started to show – apparently, she didn't usually do this much slaying at one time, which was weird to Ruby. What else was there to do?!

When she returned home Sunday night, it was to an unusually dark house, the only light coming from the living room. Ruby carefully closed the door behind her, then hunched over and snuck towards the light. It was, unsurprisingly from the TV. What wasn't unsurprising was the overdramatic acting on display, the sappy music, and her father weeping under a blanket on the sofa.

"Dad," Ruby whispered, stretching her neck so that only her head appeared from behind the sofa. "Are you watching soap operas?"

Taiyang sat up yelling and grabbed the TV remote, blindly changing to another channel. He looked at Ruby, wide eyed, and said, "… _No_!"

" _Right_. That was just… the TV freaking out," Ruby grinned.

"Gosh, that happens to you too?" Taiyang wiped his forehead. "I tell you, this thing is done, we need to get a new device _now_!"

He was lucky Ruby was such a kind daughter. If it had been Yang catching him, she would have teased him about it for months.

"Did you have fun with your sister? She give you any trouble?" Taiyang asked, sitting up.

"Nope, it was all very fun. She did get annoyed with me a couple times, because apparently _I don't know how to share Grimm_ ," Ruby rolled her eyes. "It's not my fault she's outclassed."

"Wow. I'm hoping that's just your competitiveness showing," Taiyang said. "Three whole days, huh? That's a lot of Grimm. Good – that means you shouldn't have to go hunting for a while, right?"

Ruby nodded mutely. She looked at her father, and though he looked completely relaxed, she couldn't help but remember what Yang had said and wonder…

"Dad, you don't get worried about me, do you?" she asked. "When I go out, I mean?"

"Shouldn't I?" He looked at her weird. "You do realize your line of work is kinda, well, _deadly_?"

"Yeah, but… that's not what I mean," Ruby shook her head. "I don't know what I mean. I'm just asking."

"Well, I worry a bit, but that's what fathers do. They worry," Taiyang said. "The difference is, most fathers worry about their daughters sneaking off to have sexy times with their secret boyfriends. I worry about my daughter getting gobbled up by scary monsters." His eyes straightened. "Wait a minute… Ruby, you aren't using the Grimm as a cover to your having sexy times with a secret boyfriend, are you?"

"What? No! How can you say that, Dad!" Ruby shrieked. "I don't even have a boyfriend, much less a secret one!"

"A secret girlfriend, then!" he yelled triumphantly. "I see it now! Everything makes sense! First you make friends with that Penny girl, then suddenly you're out of the house all the time! And I haven't even been introduced to the girl! It's as clear as day!"

Ruby had half the mind to use Crescent Rose on him. Thankfully, she had sufficient self-restraint and stopped herself.

"I can have friends, Dad. That's normal, you know?" Ruby said. "Penny and I are just friends. That's it. And I plan on keeping it that way."

"Of course you'd say that," Taiyang scoffed. "You can't just admit that she's your secret girlfriend, or else it wouldn't be a secret."

"That's _terrible_ logic, Dad."

"But it makes sense!"

"You're the worst. I'm going up to my room."

Ruby raced up the stairs and plopped down on her bed, blowing a strand of hair from her lips. She regretted being so considerate with her father. He could worry his head off now, for all she cared!

Her Scroll beeped, and she picked it up to see a message from Yang.

 _What's this I hear about a secret girlfriend?_

Her father's giggling echoed up to her room. Ruby quickly typed up a response.

 _Did you know Dad watches soap operas when nobody's home?_

* * *

The itch was always there now, at home, at school, gnawing at her every moment of the day. It seemed that, no matter what she was doing, her mind always went back to the Grimm.

Ruby wasn't worried. Not yet, at least. But she did make an effort to brush it off, and concentrate on more pressing matters, like school – even if, being completely honest, she considered school as important as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It was nice to have, but she wouldn't die without it.

And so it was that she found herself desperately trying to keep her attention on her professor as he went on and on about Chemistry – something about every element having little… balls of something? Yep. She was lost. _Completely_.

Ruby decided to just hunker down and wait until the end of class, hoping that nobody would notice how confused she was. Unfortunately, that was the moment her Scroll came to life inside her backpack, blaring an alarm that drew the attention of everyone around her – the professor included.

"Oops!" Ruby laughed nervously, opening her backpack. "That's on me. Sorry! Let me just get this – where is it… Err…"

"Take your time, Miss Rose," the professor said, waiting patiently.

"Yup! I mean, no – I'll find it fast! Really, really- here it is!" Ruby brought her Scroll out, but her triumphant smile faded immediately as she recognized the alarm, and the message on the screen.

How was this – this wasn't possible – maybe it was fluke, a prank even? – but if not…

"Everyone!" she shouted, standing up. "Get up and-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the left wall of the classroom shattered and collapsed, filling the room with dust and concrete. Amidst the screams of terror and the noise of desks and chairs being knocked over as her classmates rushed out the hallway, Ruby heard a low growl, and then she saw them – two red eyes, approaching her fast, _so fast_ , faster than she could-

Her back slammed against a wall, Aura flaring to life to cover most of the hurt. Ruby jumped to the side, and a claw burrowed into the wall where her head had been, sending cracks all over the structure.

Ruby backed away slowly, trying to make out the Grimm through the dust in the air. It was huge, with a build like an Ursa, but those spikes on its back… She had never seen anything like it. Maybe it was a new species?

The Grimm didn't allow her any more respite, rushing at her once again with its claws raised. Ruby jumped over it, just barely dodging the attack, but her head hit the ceiling and she plunged back to the ground, a little disoriented.

The classroom was too small for her to fight the Grimm, not to mention the dust that was impairing her vision, and the possibility that the damage might bring a whole section of the school crumbling down on everyone. Ruby needed to find somewhere else fast, and the only place she could think…

"Hey!" Ruby jumped at the Grimm and kicked it in the face, using the momentum to launch herself through the collapsed wall. She landed on her feet on the stairs that led up to the school, but unfortunately, it looked like everyone was there, taking the easiest exit out of the scene.

"Everyone, go back inside!" Ruby screamed. "Now! I've got this!"

As the flood of students reversed its direction, the Grimm came jumping out of the school, landing in front of Ruby. In the daylight, she could now see it really was like nothing she had seen before. It was like a mixture of an Ursa with a Beringel, but most frightening was its right arm, which was made of steel.

"Okay. That's new," Ruby gulped. "You, uh, wanna not use that on me, please?"

The Grimm roared and swiped at her head. Ruby ducked under it and jumped back, getting up on a railing. How she wished she hadn't left Crescent Rose at home! With the size of this Grimm, she didn't have a clue how she could kill it without a weapon – was it even possible?

Well, she had one certain advantage – with her Semblance, there was no way she was going to let herself be caught. The Grimm lunged at her again, but she moved aside, turning into petals and flowing around it. Reforming, she did the first thing that came to mind and kneed the Grimm as hard as she could, in the butt.

It turned around and glared at her, unphased.

"Sorry?"

The Grimm punched, and Ruby was sent flying, making a trail of dirt as she barreled through the yard before the school. She started to stand, but the Grimm was already approaching, soaring through the air in a single leap – how was it so fast?! – and thrusting its arm out for another punch.

This time, it hit Ruby straight in the head. She hit the ground, seeing stars. She could feel her Aura depleting fast, and she had yet to take a handful of hits.

A hand closed around her shin, and she was suddenly jerked into the air. Screaming, Ruby quickly scanned her blurred surroundings and swung herself to the right, gaining speed to turn into petals and run from the Grimm.

She reformed far away, but the Grimm quickly found her and started running at her again. Panicking, Ruby tried to come up with a plan. She wasn't strong on her own, she didn't have a weapon, or an ally, she couldn't keep using her Semblance to dodge forever, and…

Oh. Maybe that could work.

The Grimm caught up to her and tried to enclose her with a hand, but Ruby jumped back, escaping its grasp, and took off running. The beast roared and went after her, not matching her speed, but if she were to slow down for a second or two, she was toast. But she wasn't planning on doing that anytime soon.

Ruby put on a new burst of speed, and looking down at herself, saw that the tips of her fingers were dismantling, turning into petals… She turned suddenly, running directly at the Grimm, and struck him with an open palm.

 _This better work_.

And it did.

She was petals, and so was the Grimm, a mixed flurry of red and black storming through the school yard. For a moment, Ruby was in total control, directing them upward – but then she felt a force trying to overpower her, and they stopped in the air for a moment before falling back to ground level.

 _No way! You're huge and strong and you have an awesome metal arm – but this is_ my thing _, you jerk!_

In an instant, they bolted up into the air, reaching past the top floor of the school, then the highest building in Patch, and almost into the clouds. Only then, Ruby let go, and she returned to physical form, as did the Grimm.

They met eyes, and for that fraction of a second, time seemed to freeze. Ruby winked at the Grimm.

Then they started falling, faster and faster by the second, and Ruby directed herself at the Grimm, pressing her feet onto its chest. The speed was unlike anything Ruby had ever experienced before – or maybe it just felt different because she wasn't using her Semblance. The wind struck at her face, making her eyes tear up, and even the slightest movement was a battle all of its own. The Grimm seemed to be having an even harder time than her.

The school became visible again, along with the students and staff watching in fear from the windows. Ruby gritted her teeth… and turned to petals just before impact.

Dirt and concrete went flying everywhere, a huge crater appearing where the Grimm had fallen. Ruby's petals raced parallel to the ground, and when she turned back to normal, she still went rolling away in what she assumed was not a very graceful manner.

It was great, having an audience.

Once she was back to sorts, Ruby dusted off her clothes and cracked her neck, then walked over to the crater. To her dismay, the Grimm was still there, half-buried in the dirt, twitching as if in severe pain. Ruby almost took pity of it. Almost.

"Alright, big guy," Ruby slid down the side of the crater. "Say good night…" She didn't have her weapon, but one good punch to the brain should do the trick.

Suddenly, the Grimm's metal arm came free, its hand closing around Ruby's neck. She grasped at the fingers, trying to pry them apart, but no matter how hard she tried, they didn't bulge in the slightest. Ruby kicked at the monster, hitting it everywhere in range, but it didn't even react.

Slowly, her vision darkened.

The cries from the school became whispers.

Beside her ear, a warm voice called.

And then she was on her knees, gasping for airs. The Grimm's arm fell, as unmoving as the rest of its body. But it didn't turn to smoke. No part of the monster did.

And Ruby was left there, trembling, barely clinging on to consciousness.

The itch was stronger than ever.

* * *

 **Poor Ruby. But hey, at least class is canceled for the day! That makes the beating worth it, I think.  
**

 **I don't have much to say. This is kind of a slow story, compared to the others before it. Ironic, considering it's about Ruby! But that's by design, and as we're getting to the meat of it now, there will be plenty of excitement to be had in the coming chapters.**

 **-Zeroan**


	4. Hit the Brakes, or not

"Ruby. Ruby, sweetheart. Look at me."

Ruby blinked. When had her father got here? When had she sat down on this bench outside the school? And… when had everyone come out, when had the police arrived, when had they set a perimeter around the crater, when had Beacon-

"Ruby!" Taiyang pushed her back down onto the bench. "Stay down. Everything's fine – well at least I think everything's fine. I'm not so sure about you."

Ruby shook her head. She felt like she was in a haze, not unlike when getting out of bed in the morning, except ten times stronger. "Dad, what's happening…?"

Taiyang looked around, scowling at a few students that gazed too long at them. Then he looked back at her and held her hand. "A Grimm attacked the school. Don't get up! – you took care of it, but you got hit badly in return. You almost…" His voice trailed off. "You're still not totally okay. I'm taking you back home."

He pulled her up to her feet, but as he tried to lead her away, Ruby's eyes fixed on the scene of the aftermath. Through the droves of students and behind the line of cops, she could barely see, in the crater below, a disarray of black mass, and a glinting metal arm.

"Ruby Rose!"

She startled, looking back at her father. He looked so angry, but…

"I'm okay, Dad," she mumbled. "I can stay just fine, if they need help, Beacon's here too and I'm-"

"Out of the question," he said, and Ruby shrunk a bit, not having been at the receiving end of that tone in _years_. "You're taking the day off – the _week_ off – and God help me if you try to argue, Ruby. I don't want to hear it."

Ruby nodded. It wasn't like she had much choice in the matter. And she was feeling rather sleepy…

Taiyang took her to his car and opened the passenger's door for her, sat her down, then went around and sat behind the wheel himself. He turned on the car, giving her a sideways glance, almost as if he expected her to open the window and jump back out onto the street.

"Did…" Ruby's voice failed. "Did anyone…?"

"No," he answered softly. "I think some kids might have gotten hurt, but nothing too serious."

"Okay. Good." Ruby rubbed her eyes. "You really think they've got everything handled?"

Taiyang sighed. He leaned towards her, fixing her collar and straightening out her shirt, then took hold of the steering wheel. "You don't need to worry about that."

He drove off, soon turning a corner and leaving the sight of the school behind. Ruby drifted back to sleep.

* * *

When Ruby woke up again, it was to a pitch-black bedroom and two red eyes in front of her.

She sat up, fully alert, kicking off her covers and reaching for Crescent Rose on her nightstand – but it wasn't there. Holding back a scream, Ruby jumped to her feet on the bed and prepared a fist…

There was nothing there. She had just imagined it.

Ruby fell to her knees, breathing in and out slowly as the pace of her heart returned to normal. Now that had been scary. Almost as scary as…

Her Scroll beeped on her nightstand. Eager for anything to distract her mind, Ruby picked it up and scrolled through her notifications, but she wasn't prepared for what she saw. Her eyes welled up a bit, and she had to bite her finger to stop a sob from coming out.

Everyone was asking after her. The whole team. First in the group chat, and then individually when she didn't respond. Yang, of course, had sent an absurd number of messages, even considering the nature of the situation. Even Blake had reached out…

 _Hey guys! I'm okay. Really really okay. I just woke up. Sorry for making you all worry!_

Ruby put her Scroll down, taking in a shaky breath. What had she done to deserve such good friends?

Even so, she had gotten a little hurt, and the attack had come out of nowhere, but the extent to which everyone was worried was a little strange. It wasn't like she was some defenseless little girl. She was their leader, in fact, and she could take them all very well in a fight! But... she couldn't be ungrateful for the concern.

Getting out of bed, Ruby turned on the lights and looked at herself in the mirror. Her left cheek looked a little bruised, but aside from that, she was very much unharmed. Even that would heal fast with the help of her Aura.

Not bothering to change out of her pajamas, Ruby left her bedroom and skipped down the stairs. Her father was sitting on his armchair in the living room by himself, his phone on the table before him. The look on his face halted Ruby in her tracks.

She had seen that look before. That… that sheer anguish. But it was so long ago, Ruby couldn't remember clearly. _When_?

He turned to look at her, and that expression disappeared as a slight smile parted his lips. The relief was almost contagious. Ruby smiled back at him, and not knowing what to say, sat down on the couch.

"You're looking chipper for someone who went hand-to-hand with a robot demon," Taiyang said. "How are you feeling?"

"Good as new!" Ruby declared. "I could fight ten more robot demons all at the same time!"

She punched the air playfully, and though her father chuckled a little, she got the impression he didn't find the joke all that amusing.

"Is everyone okay?" she asked.

"Yes. Everything's been cleaned up by Beacon," Taiyang said. "The school's gonna take a while to get fixed, but the good news is, you're not getting the blame for anything! Be thankful, because we certainly wouldn't have been able to afford that."

"Oops. Collateral damage is a thing, yeah…" Ruby shrugged. "But better that than, you know, what more could have happened." She paused. "Are you _sure_ everyone is okay?"

" _Yes_. Even your secret girlfriend." He grinned. "She's very cute, by the way."

Ruby groaned. What would it take for him to drop that?

"You said Beacon cleaned up everything. So are they looking into what happened already?" she asked. "Because that was no regular Grimm attack, I can tell you that for a fact."

"About that…" He looked down at his phone. "I was just talking with Glynda about it. They _are_ looking into it."

Ruby waited for him to elaborate, but he just kept staring away from her. "Well? What did she say? How do we get to the bottom of this, and how do we make sure it doesn't happen again?"

Taiyang got up and turned away. Ruby looked at him, puzzled, but she knew better than to press him for answers. Whatever was on his mind, he didn't really want to share with her, but he had to.

It was like that time he had caught her with her literal hand in the literal cookie jar when she was literally sick from eating too many cookies. It had been adorable, according to him, but he couldn't have let that go on any longer.

"Ruby," he said finally, turning around. "You're right that it wasn't a regular attack. Glynda thinks the Grimm was targeting you specifically."

Ruby frowned. "Like… Like an Aura thing? Grimm do that, you know."

"No. _You_ ," Taiyang said. "They've been examining the Grimm's body. Apparently, that metal arm wasn't the only thing different about it. It had all kinds of modifications inside it too. And they found some stuff in its brain which they think modified its behavior…" He paused. "It was like it was programmed to hunt you, and only you."

"Huh. Well that's new," Ruby said. "I guess that's how it got to the school without being detected too. It must have had some tech for that." She huffed. "Man, that sounds so cool. It's a shame that it was used on a Grimm."

Her father looked at her sternly. Alright, maybe now wasn't the best time to gush about the technology that had almost killed her.

"Do they have any idea who's behind the attack?" Ruby asked. "I mean, there's gotta be someone. Unless that Grimm went to college undercover and got a PhD, I don't think it reprogrammed itself."

"There are some suspects," Taiyang said. "Beacon's looking into it. Your team too. Even Uncle Qrow stopped whatever it is he does for a living to help out. We're gonna have answers real soon."

"Alright!" Ruby stood up, smiling radiantly. "How do I help, then?"

"You don't."

Ruby gaped at him, completely taken aback. He might as well have said she wasn't allowed to walk or eat anymore.

"I think, Ruby – and Glynda agrees with me on this – I think the best thing for you to do, _for now_ , is to stay put," her father said patiently. "I realize you wanna help, but by putting yourself out there, you would be doing the exact opposite. The risk is too great."

"But I can take care of myself!" Ruby shouted. Realizing how loud she was being, she took a deep breath and sat back down. "I know it's risky, but haven't I proved myself enough? Look at everything I've done. I-I've been killing Grimm longer than everyone else on the team – except Pyrrha, but she's Pyrrha! I don't know what else I have to do to convince you all that I'm…"

She gestured helplessly with her hands, the words she needed running away from her. She wasn't even sure what she was trying to say, she only knew she was frustrated beyond speech, and it hadn't even taken that much to get her there.

Her father crouched before her, taking her hands in his own. "Ruby, no one doubts that you're capable. We just don't want you to get hurt again, because next time, it might not stop at that," he said. "We don't know who we're dealing with. The only thing we know is that they want you dead. So please, let the people who care about you protect you, for once."

Slowly, Ruby settled down, her anger and frustration fading as she remembered how urgently her teammates had tried to contact her. She was so far away from them, some being across whole oceans, but that hadn't stopped them from jumping to her aid.

"Okay… I'll stay home until all this crazy stuff is over," Ruby said. "But I want updates. And if things get bad, I'm going to help out no matter what anybody says."

"I wouldn't expect any less of you," Taiyang smiled. "Now, there's nothing to add, really. We're gonna have to wait and see what the others come up with. Until then…" He got up. "Wanna rewatch the _Ultimate Death Samurais_ series with your old man for the sixth time in recorded history?"

"The old trilogy? Or the new cinematic universe?" Ruby asked.

Taiyang opened a drawer under the TV and took out a boxset, laying it down on the table with a _bang_. "The whole bunch."

Ruby sat up in excitement, but that quickly ended when her Scroll started beeping upstairs. She recognized the sound – she could probably do a piano cover of it, and she'd never played an instrument her whole life. There was a Breach somewhere nearby. It only made sense, with the alarm caused by a Grimm appearing in the heart of the city.

"You know, I… I don't feel like watching anything right now," she said, trying to sound casual, but she could see from her father's face that he wasn't fooled. "I'm gonna sleep or something. Get my energy back."

"Sure," Taiyang said. "The movies and your super-dad will be here if you change your mind."

Ruby gave him the best smile she could muster, then went back to her room, closing and locking the door behind her. As the latch clicked, she felt an unexplainable urge to cry, but Ruby puffed her chest and shook her head, refusing to break down so easily. This was _far_ from the worst thing to happen to her, recently or otherwise.

She looked at her closet, and her uniform hanging from its handles, and Crescent Rose, on the ground below it. It was a bittersweet sight. Ruby took the uniform and folded it, then put it inside the closet, deciding to only take it out once everything was dealt with. The temptation would be too great otherwise.

As for Crescent Rose… It was safer to keep it accessible nearby, just in case. She picked it up and laid down on her bed, hugging the folded weapon as if it were a doll.

She ended up not sleeping at all that night.

* * *

After the rage subsided, he realized half the laboratory was trashed, by his own hands no less. A fool's mistake. An emotional one. But the kind his pets appreciated. That, at least, was a comfort.

He sat down before his screen, restarting the recovered footage. He could properly study it now that he was calm. Oh, he was still disgusted by what he saw, not to mention outraged, but work was work, no matter how ugly.

And there was much to be garnered from the girl's bumbling butchery. Oh, there certainly was!

Next time, Ruby Rose would not escape from her punishment.

* * *

It was scary how fast life could take its turns, and with so little warning. Ruby remembered how just yesterday, she had been so excited about… everything. For the first time in forever, she had felt like her life wasn't split in parts. Hunting and school and family – it all made sense.

And just a day later, she felt lost. Maybe it had been just a fluke. Maybe there were some aspects of her life which, simply enough, would never fit in with the rest. It had been a mistake to ever think otherwise.

She had been thinking like the girl she used to be. Ruby wasn't that person anymore.

Realizing all of that didn't make her predicament any easier, because no matter how deep and revealing the epiphany, it didn't change the fact that she was stuck at home, doing the one thing she hated above all else.

Waiting. She had spent years waiting. Why did she have to go back to that, now of all times?

* * *

It was after a long weekend of boredom, and an argument full of puppy-eyed-looks and unreasonable promises, that Ruby was able to get some respite and convince her father to let her go to school.

Yes. Ruby Rose had begged to go to school. That was how dire the situation was.

She realized it probably wouldn't make her feel much better, but she would take anything to keep her mind off the world away from Patch. Any minute spent half-listening to a teacher babble on and on about electricity or whatever, was a minute not spent worrying that Yang had been sat on by a giant Grimm, or Jaune had fallen into a hole somewhere in eastern Mistral and nobody had seen him since.

Maybe she was worrying too much, but Ruby had heard stories, and if she had been targeted, how unlikely was it that the others were also?

More than any classes or professors, it was Penny who kept her sane during those horrible mornings and afternoons. Talking to her, studying – or trying to – with her, hanging around after school… those were the moments when Ruby really forgot about everything else.

And there was one instance, shortly after the incident, when the two of them were trying to get to their spot in the tracking fields during break, and as always, people were nearly fighting for Ruby's attention. Normally, she was able to power through it, but that day, something inside her froze. The questions, the shouting, the crowd drawing around her…

And then Penny had spoken up, her voice somehow drowning out all the others. "Hey! She doesn't want to talk to you." Everyone had stopped to gawk at her, but Penny kept a straight face somehow. "Could you leave us be, please?"

Ruby had expected them to ignore Penny, or even worse, laugh at her, but everyone had done as she asked and left them alone in the hallway. And afterwards, Penny had acted like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Ruby couldn't even thank her properly.

She was starting to wonder how she had ever lived without a friend like that. Or just Penny specifically.

* * *

" _For the last time, Ruby. No, you can't help, and if you could, I would tell you. Got it?_ "

Ruby fell back on her bed, having half the mind to toss her Scroll through her window and just leave it lying wherever it landed, forever. It would make her life a lot less stressful, with a forced absence of constant Grimm pings and messages from Commander Goodwitch relaying that, indeed, nothing had been discovered still.

Maybe she should just bury her head in the sand somewhere like an ostrich. Ostriches were the least stressed species on Remnant, weren't they? Ruby was sure she had read about that somewhere. A very prestigious scientific magazine, surely.

"Are you _sure_ , though?" she insisted. There had to be someway to get through to Yang. Maybe if she annoyed her for long enough, Yang would get fed up and _beg_ her to help out. "You know, I don't like to brag, but I _am_ a pretty skilled… person… in the area of… doing things. You'd be a fool to not use me!"

" _While that was a very eloquent argument, Ruby,_ " Yang replied, and Ruby could tell she was holding back a laugh. Drat! The plan had backfired in the worst way possible! " _The answer is still no. You're staying right where you are, with Dad and Beacon watching over you._ "

"But… What if I tagged along with you? Or, I don't know, Pyrrha? Uncle Qrow, even?" Ruby said. "I think I'd be even safer then. And wouldn't you like to have me close by? It could be another fun Super Sisters adventure!"

" _Yes to the latter question, no to the general idea. Ruby, just stop. You'd have more luck asking Weiss._ "

"Maybe I _will_ ask Weiss!" Ruby stuck out her tongue, then quickly put it back in her mouth when she remembered Yang couldn't see her. "We're friends. She cares about me. Probably more than you do, because unlike you, she doesn't want me to die of boredom!"

" _Mhmm. Well, you have her number, so you can do that right now if you wanna._ "

Ruby cursed under her breath. If only they were in the same room, then she could have used her puppy-eyes on Yang. Although, Yang was more much resistant to that than their father, probably because she had used her own version on him several times.

" _Look, Ruby. I know you're going through a hard time right now. I don't want you to feel like I'm downplaying that or anything, because I'm not_ ," Yang said. " _I wish you could help out, but we don't always get to do what we want, so…_ "

"I'm not five, Yang. I don't need that talk," Ruby grumbled.

" _Okay. Then buckle up and stop complaining, 'cause that's not gonna get us anywhere,_ " Yang said. " _This whole investigating thing might last a long time, so you've gotta be patient. It's not like the bad guy is gonna materialize out of thin air and monologue his evil plan, just like that._ "

"Yang! You jinxed it!" Ruby sat up. "Get ready to grab him, it's gonna happen any second now!"

" _That's not how jinxes work, Ruby. It's only when you say bad stuff. Trust me, I know._ "

"Really? That sucks!" Ruby frowned. "It does explain why I haven't gotten my ten million Lien yet, though." She heard her father call from downstairs. "Uh, I think Dad's calling me. Talk to you later?"

" _Yep! I've gotta get back to work anyway,_ " Yang said. " _Also, Jaune's hair just caught on fire and we can't have him die that way._ "

" _Wait, what? No! Ruby, don't believe her-_ "

Yang hung up, leaving Ruby to wonder whether she was messing with Jaune, or just reporting on the truth. As the leader of both of them, the fact that she couldn't decide was really worrying.

Ruby put her phone away and went down to the living room, where Taiyang was waiting for her with a giddy smile on his face. She paused, looking around suspiciously. He wouldn't throw her a surprise party now, would he? That was a bit out there for even him to do.

"You called…?" Ruby asked cautiously, keeping one foot half-raised. If worst came to worst, she could just bolt out of the house and never return.

"I did!" His smile grew. "Are you ready to receive the most incredible gift of your life?"

"Tell me it's not a starfish clock."

"Better!" he exclaimed. "Well, worse, but only because our tastes differ." He raised a finger. "Wait for it…!"

He turned around, retrieving something from the couch, then spun back around to face her, holding his arms out. In his hands was Ruby's uniform – the _new_ uniform, the one which she had all but forgotten about. Even after everything that had happened, even with her not saying a word about it… he'd continued to work on it!

"That's… that's… Dad, you're the best!" Ruby exclaimed. She jumped at him, and he opened his arms to embrace her, but Ruby just took the uniform and stepped away, giggling to herself. "I love it!"

"Yeah, you can… _ahem_ … thank me later." Taiyang slowly put his arms down, glad that she hadn't caught his goof. "You wanna try it on?"

Ruby yelled something that was supposed to be words, then raced to the bathroom. Seconds later, she popped back out, wearing the new outfit.

"Oh hey, it actually fits perfectly," Taiyang said, more to himself than to her. "Maybe there is something to this sewing thing. I'll keep it in mind for when society inevitably loses its last speck of respect for educators."

"What was that?" Ruby asked distractedly, looking herself in the mirror.

"I was just saying I'm glad we live in a society where it's acceptable for you to behead evil monsters while wearing fashionable clothing."

Ruby spun around, unable to stop herself from giggling. She felt silly – fashion and trying out clothes had never really served as entertainment for her – but she couldn't deny that just wearing the new uniform made her feel _amazing_. The new cape, the skirt and leggings, the new gray mixed with the usual black…

"I think I'm gonna wear this forever."

"Please don't," Taiyang said. "At least take it off before showering."

"Well, duh!" Ruby rolled her eyes. "I was exaggerating. But I guess I'm gonna have to settle for wearing this at home for now," she sighed. "It's not like I can wear it for what it's meant for…"

"It'll make its triumphant debut, in due time," Taiyang assured. "Do try and keep it from tearing too soon, though. I know the Grimm can be a pesky bunch, but one can hope."

"Yeah. It'd be a shame if they got their claws on this…"

Ruby looked at herself in the mirror. She could imagine a Beowolf sinking its claws onto the cape, or scratching up her leggings. God, just thinking it was making her upset! And it wasn't like there was much she could do to prevent it. Her first uniform had needed repairs all the time. The only time it had stayed relatively undamaged was during her earliest days, when the most she did was…

"Oof. What's that face mean?" Taiyang glared at the back of her head. "You're not planning a third costume, are you?"

" _Uniform_ ," Ruby said. "And no. I think I just figured out my math homework."

"You're thinking of math?" His face scrunched up. "I know I should be proud, but… ugh. You can't be _that_ depressed."

Ruby gave him no mind, speeding back to her room in a flurry of petals. She had an idea. A terrible, awfully irresponsible, but great idea. Under no conditions, should she go through with it.

* * *

Ruby went through with it.

To be fair, it wasn't a spur of the moment thing. She had taken quite a long time deliberating about it, and she had considered all the factors that played into it. And she had solemnly promised – to herself only, yes, but it wasn't like that she could tell anyone else – that it would be a one-time thing. She would have her fun, and that would be it.

Ruby knew she wasn't good at keeping to those promises. But this time, she absolutely meant it.

And so it was that she came to be at the rooftops of downtown Patch, in the late, late hours of the night. She had chosen that time for two reasons. One, it was when sneaking out of the house was easiest. Two, those were the prime hours for this particular kind of hunt. A kind of hunt which she now realized she had been sorely missing.

It didn't take long to find her first target. There was a man walking down a street, carrying a suitcase with him, a hat obscuring most of his face. Why he was there at this hour, Ruby didn't have a clue. But that man wasn't the target.

No. The target – or _targets_ , to be precise – were the two men behind him. They were at a distance that, at first glance, should warrant no suspicion. But from above, Ruby could see the glint of a gun in the hand of one of them, while the other held a knife.

Activating her Semblance, Ruby floated down to the street, silently reforming right behind the men. She took a moment to make sure her cape was on correctly, then cleared her throat. "Hey. You wouldn't happen to be stalking that guy, would you?"

They turned around, the gunman raising his weapon instinctively and aiming at her face, while the one with the knife stayed at his side, ready to move at a moment's notice. Ruby pursed her lips. It had been a while since she'd last taken a gunshot, but she very well remembered how much it hurt.

"Alright, so my hunch was _probably_ correct," she said. "But I did startle you guys. Sorry about that. If you could put that thing down and explain yourselves, I'm sure we can come to an understanding."

The pair looked at each other, then back at her. The gunman lowered his aim, just a little. "I don't know who you think you are, and I don't particularly care. Scram, or we'll hurt you. Bad!"

"That's… not an explanation. Also a very lame threat, to be honest," Ruby said. "Do you guys really not know who I am?"

"We know who you're dressing up as," the one with the knife sneered. "Or _trying to_. Your cosplay sucks."

"What? No! I am literally her! Me. Red Bolt. Ruby Rose," she sighed. "You're gonna make me punch you, aren't you?"

The gunman pulled the trigger, and while the bullet would have pierced into her belly, a quick use of her Semblance had it instead hit the sidewalk behind her. She reappeared right in front of him, yanking the gun from his grasp and tossing it away.

"Shit! It's actually her! Please don't-"

Ruby backhanded him, then grabbed him by the shoulder while he was dazed and shoved him off his feet. He hit the concrete screaming, curling up as pain spread from the point of impact on his back.

"I _tried_ to be nice," Ruby said. "Some things never change, I guess." She turned to the knife-guy. "Your turn." Before he could react, she landed a punch on his chin, knocking him out cold in a single blow.

Ruby shook her hand, whistling quietly to herself. While Grimm were far more resilient than the average human, punching a person actually hurt more, even with Aura. Probably because of the bones – a disturbing realization to have at the dead of night, with two guys sprawled out on the sidewalk in front of you, one unconscious, the other moaning in pain.

"Man." Ruby smiled. "I missed this."

She bent down, took the unconscious guy's phone from his pocket and made a quick call to the police – making sure to disguise her voice, of course! – then used her Semblance to get back up to the rooftops. It would take a while for the dawn to come, and until then… tonight held a lot of promise.

* * *

Ruby sat down on her chair, humming a quiet tune under her breath while she looked around the classroom, discreetly listening in on her classmates' conversations. She had gotten some long looks from a few people, but that was par for the course nowadays, and nobody had approached her asking about her return to patrolling.

That was a relief, to say the least. The last thing Ruby needed was for people to start saying the Red Bolt was back – figuratively, as she had never really left in the first place – and her father hearing word of it. She needed to stay on top of any possible rumors, and take whatever action necessary to keep them from spreading!

Now, how to actually do that was another matter altogether, but she would cross that bridge when she came to it. For now, she was just happy to have done some good for humanity.

"You seem chipper today, friend! A striking difference from your mood as of late," Penny remarked, stopping by her desk before the professor came. "What's the matter with that, if I may ask?"

"Hmm? Nothing, Penny," Ruby shrugged. "I was just, you know. Thinking about cookies."

"Again? I must say, Ruby, your liking of cookies seems to go a little beyond the normal. I would go as far as to say you have an… obsession," Penny said. "I'm just making an observation, of course! No judgement from me. Cookies are delicious, and I know, because I eat them all the time."

"You do?" Ruby raised an eyebrow at her. "Penny, I've never seen you eat a cookie." She frowned. "Actually, now that I think about it, I can't remember ever seeing you eat anything at all."

Penny's expression went blank for a moment, then she smiled wide and raised a finger. "That's because I am on a strict diet and only eat at home - with my father!" She paused. "It's an Atlas custom!"

"You know, Atlas has the weirdest customs," Ruby said. "That's kinda good news, though. My Dad's been bugging me about asking you over for dinner sometime. Says he wants to get to know you, or something silly like that."

Penny straightened up suddenly, making Ruby edge away a little in surprise. She certainly hadn't been expecting such a strong reaction.

"Why? Does he think I'm weird?" Penny asked, her eyes narrowing. "Does he not want me around you?"

"Woah! It's nothing like that, Penny! Calm down!" Ruby waved her hands at her friend's face. "It's just that he's used to me not really having any friends, especially from school, so he's interested in you. That's all."

Of course, Ruby chose to not include the part about her father believing they were secret girlfriends, which was the main reason why he wanted to meet Penny – but Penny didn't need to know that!

Penny stared at her for a few seconds, then finally blinked and smiled. "I'd love to meet him, then! And your house! Not that I can meet inanimate objects!"

She started to laugh, while Ruby could only watch, slightly disturbed. Penny's sense of humor was certainly… _unusual_. Probably another Atlas thing.

"Okay, but… Didn't you just say you can only eat at your house, and with your dad?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, an exception can be made, I'm sure," Penny said. "I'll call my father between classes. He'll agree to the arrangement, no doubt. Then we can go straight to your house after school!"

Ruby did a double take. "We can?"

"It's the most efficient way to go about things." Penny glared at her. "Unless you have some issue with efficiency, _friend_?"

Ruby very slowly shook her head. "Nope. I love efficiency. It's my favorite thing, actually. I'm surprised you didn't know that."

Penny beamed at her, then skipped over to her own desk as the professor entered the classroom and started preparing the whiteboard for his lesson. Ruby slipped down her chair, her cheerfulness from before giving way to dread.

Things were about to get very awkward…

* * *

"This is, uh, the entrance hall. You can tell it's the entrance hall because it's from here that you enter the house." Ruby paused, kicking herself as she went over what she had just said. As expected, she was doing _spectacularly_. "Moving on…"

She walked down the hall, gesturing for Penny to follow, and Penny did so with unrestrained enthusiasm, looking at the walls and the pictures hung there as if she were visiting a museum.

"This is the living room," Ruby said. "It's the room where we live - I mean, where we have fun. TV, and stuff like that. You know what a living room is."

"Yes, we have those in Atlas too!" Penny nodded. "Yours looks splendid. I bet you have a very good time living in it, Ruby."

"Yeah, uh… The kitchen's up next. Over this way."

Ruby guided Penny to the kitchen, and immediately regretted it when she found her Dad there, already working tirelessly at the stove. He stopped peppering his meal and turned around, his lips parting into a big, wide smile.

"Penny!" Taiyang exclaimed, walking over to them and offering a hand. "So nice to meet you at last!"

"Yes, sir!" Penny shook his hand enthusiastically. "It's very nice to meet you too, sir!"

"Oh, forget this. Come here, let's have a proper greeting!"

"Whatever do you mean, sir- _oop_!"

Taiyang pulled Penny into a hug and patted her on the back. Penny remained still for a moment, then hugged him in return, nodding her head contently.

Ruby died a little inside.

"So nice, so nice." Taiyang pulled back. "I'm glad you came, Penny. I've been telling Ruby to ask you over for weeks, but she kept brushing me off! It's like she's embarrassed of me or something."

"I don't know why anyone would ever be embarrassed of you, sir!" Penny said.

"Oh, please, don't call me sir," Taiyang said. "I'm not that old yet."

"Professor, then? Mr. Rose? What should I call you?" Penny asked.

"My friends call me Tai." He leaned towards her, hiding his mouth from Ruby behind a hand, and whispered, "But if you must, you can go ahead and call me Dad."

Penny blinked. "I don't understand why I would do that."

"Sure you don't." Taiyang winked at her, then returned to the stove.

What little remained of Ruby's spirit slipped from her body and ascended to the heavens.

Penny turned to her. "Your father is lovely. I like him a lot already."

"I'm a pro at first impressions, and seconds and thirds," Taiyang said. "The food won't be ready for a while. Half an hour, at least. If you wanna go up, feel free."

"I'd love to see your room, Ruby!" Penny clapped her hands. "Can we do that?"

"Uhm, sure," Ruby said hesitantly. She was giving a lot of ammo to her father with this move, but she figured it was better than keeping Penny around him any longer. "Call us when the food's ready."

"Will do!"

Ruby pointed to the stairs at the hallway, and Penny marched towards them, smiling from ear to ear. Ruby made to follow her, but was stopped as her father called her name. Bracing herself, she turned back around to look at him.

"Hey, kiddo. Ease up. I'm just messing with you," Taiyang said. "Please, have fun with your friend." He winked. "But not too much fun."

"…Okay." Ruby nodded. "Thanks, Dad."

"You're very welcome."

Ruby went out the kitchen, catching up to Penny on the stairs. They entered her room – the door staying open to its full capacity – and stood around for a while, Ruby twiddling her thumbs awkwardly while Penny inspected every little spot in the room.

"Is that…?" Penny asked, pointing at the nightstand.

"Oh, yeah. That's Crescent Rose," Ruby said. "…You wanna see it?"

"If that's okay with you!"

Ruby smiled. Maybe having Penny over wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

 **Remember, kids: friendship is the best ship.  
**

 **I've decided on some changes to this story, so we might have nine chapters instead of the usual eight! Emphasis on might. I'll see how I feel about the pacing in the next chapter.**

 **(Also congrats, myself, for not taking a month to upload another chapter. You _don't_ get a cookie, because you're only doing what you set out to do in the first place. You _rascal_.)**

 **-Zeroan**


	5. Hell is Home

The construction crew was hard at work, getting the half-destroyed classroom back into shape. They had been hired just yesterday, and didn't look like it would take long for them to be done. Ruby supposed that was for the best – the sooner they got rid of the sight of the destruction, the safer it would be for everyone. She knew just how dangerous a bad memory could be these days.

The mood in the school had lightened somewhat since the Grimm incident, but Ruby knew some students, and even some of the staff, were still freaked out about it, and she couldn't blame them. Everyone knew about the creatures of Grimm now, but there was a world of difference between hearing about them and seeing them on TV, and being in the presence of a real one.

Her popularity hadn't diminished because of the incident. If anything, she had been gaining even more attention since then, though it was a little different now. People weren't coming to her because she was the local, awesome superhero. They were coming to her for reassurance, to feel safe – because she was the girl who looked Grimm in the eye every day, and never blinked.

To her surprise, Ruby found herself not liking the change as much as she ought to. It actually left her feeling even more anxious than before. Everyone's expectations had been so great before. Now? Just the thought of failing was enough to leave her in a cold sweat.

It was good she had found an outlet for all of that.

* * *

 _BAM!_ With a swift swing of her hand, Ruby knocked the gun out of the thief's hold, sending it flying far down the deserted street. Not leaving room for retaliation, she took a step forward and turned into petals, passing around the man. She reformed behind him and slammed her knee on the small of his back, reducing him to his knees.

"And that's for being a creepy dude outside way past midnight," Ruby said, raising a finger to the man. "No, this is not profiling. I'm just pretty sure I already caught you doing this stuff two years ago, soooo…"

"You can't prove that!" the thief complained. He bent forward, releasing a quiet moan. "Goddamn, you got so much stronger since – I mean, WOW, you're so strong for a thirteen-year-old!"

"I'm sixteen! How the heck does everyone keep making that same mistake with me?" Ruby groaned. "Oh, and you just proved my point. Night-night."

She punched the man in the head, knocking him out cold. Clucking her tongue, Ruby quickly sent out a call to the police, then rose to the top of a building near her. She sat down, letting her legs hang over the edge of the roof, and let out a content sigh.

Alright, it was time she admitted it. She was terrible at keeping promises. Maybe not all promises – but long-term ones, oh, those were the bane of her existence.

She didn't mean to betray her own word. Of course she didn't. And she did feel about it. But Ruby couldn't help how she truly felt. Without Red Bolt, without Grimm, without bad guys… There was nothing else for her.

Ruby was who she was. As long as she was careful, as long as she didn't go too far… where was the harm of breaking a little bit of a promise here and there?

She'd had enough for tonight. Now, it was time to go back home, to her bed and to her dreams. And tomorrow, she had school, Penny, her father… and after all that, another night all to herself.

* * *

 _Nothing still, but following leads. Update soon._

Ruby put her Scroll away and sighed. As often as Miss Goodwitch was keeping her on the loop about the investigation, the fact didn't change that it was taking way too long for _anything_ to happen. If she could only go out there and help…

Nope. Ruby shook her head. There was no point in thinking like that. The best way for her to help was to stay put, keep her mind off the important business, and let the others do what they needed to do.

Her father went back inside the house and sat down on the sofa beside her. "Alright, just gave the agents outside some food and water. Had a quick chat with them and all that," he said. "Good news: Agent Stone's wife is not going through with the divorce. They're working out their stuff. He's giving up his sand-collecting stuff, which is sad, but love triumphs over all, yadda-yadda…"

"That _is_ good news!" Ruby cheered. "I'd give him the congratulations myself, but he's kinda weird."

"A man needs his hobbies!" Taiyang exclaimed. Ruby was a little taken aback, but considering the number of starfish clocks all around the house, she could understand why he was so sensitive about the topic. "Anyway. They asked who's the girl that's been coming back from school with you."

"Oh, no. They're not gonna make a big deal about Penny, are they?" Ruby asked.

"Don't worry," he said. "I told them she was your girlfriend, so everything's fine."

Ruby frowned. "Dad, you do know lying to Beacon agents is kinda… illegal?"

"Ruby, I used to work for Beacon. They can't arrest me!" He dismissed her with a gesture and reached for the TV remote.

Ruby was fairly sure that wasn't how the law worked, but who was she to argue with a veteran?

"So, _Death Samurai: Return of the Masked Crimson_ ," Taiyang said. "You ready to start the movie?"

Ruby nodded. She used her Semblance to turn off the lights and return to the couch in a brief second, and became comfortable as her father put on the disc and started the movie.

She made it a third through the movie before her mind strayed. She looked through the living room window, caught a glimpse of the Beacon van stationed at the other side of the street, and right then, she was lost.

The 24/7 surveillance and "protection" was kinda insulting. Ruby knew it made sense in a way – she _was_ a known target – but at the same time, she had to wonder what Miss Goodwitch was thinking. Had she forgotten who Ruby was? If anything bad happened, she would probably end up protecting the agents assigned to her, not the other way around.

If they were worried about her being attacked again, maybe she shouldn't even be home. Maybe the best course of action was for her to keep moving. Nobody would be able to catch her then. And as a bonus, she could resume doing her job. Everybody won! The whole _planet_ won – except the bad guy, she supposed, but who cared about him?

What she wouldn't give to be out there right now… Killing some Grimm, restoring mankind's hope… That was the life. She almost wished the bad guy would attack her again. That would be a significant event in an increasingly boring life.

But not everything was so awful. Tonight promised freedom and purpose, and she intended to make the most of it.

"Well this movie was worse than I remembered," her father said suddenly, and she snapped from her thoughts. Looking back at the screen, Ruby realized with a jump that the credits were already rolling. "It was the cinema experience, I guess. Also, Droh was still a boring-ass character in this movie. Man, I can't wait until we get to _End of Days_ and he gets fun."

"Uh… yeah…" Ruby sat up a little, trying to appear just as invested as him. "That one is pretty awesome."

"Right?" Taiyang chuckled. "I'm glad we're doing this, Ruby. It's good to see you smiling again. Shall we go on to _Beetle-Blade_?"

"Sure! Let's do that!"

Taiyang got off the couch and merrily traded the discs. Ruby sunk where she sat.

Why was she feeling so guilty all of a sudden?

* * *

Penny had taken their breaks at school as an opportunity to brief Ruby on all the propositions she had gotten from their fellow students. Ruby had quickly learned that there was nothing she could say that would get Penny to drop her efforts to find her the perfect date to the dance.

"And this one is from Mr. Jay S., from class 3B," Penny said, turning the card in her hand to show it to Ruby. "His handwriting was particularly difficult to identify. If I were him, I would work on my cursive, perhaps invest in a tutor even. As it is, it's dragging his chances down drastically."

"I don't know any Jays," Ruby said. She took a bite out of her sandwich and munched on it for a while. "I don't care much about handwriting, though."

"You don't?" Penny looked at her dubiously. "Next you'll tell me you dislike trigonometry."

"Uh…" Ruby chose not to break that bad news to Penny. Maybe in a few years, when their friendship was strong enough to survive such a rift. "I'm just gonna pass on him, I think. Like everyone else."

"That's too bad." Penny sighed. She put the card back in her backpack along with all the others, then faced Ruby again. "I have another batch of cards from last week up to this Monday, but unfortunately, I haven't had the time to analyze them yet. But don't worry, Ruby, I will have them ready for review tomorrow at the earliest!"

"Oh joy." Ruby took another bite of her sandwich. "Thanks for the help, Penny…"

"You are very welcome!"

As Penny rummaged through her backpack, perhaps organizing the cards she had yet to analyze, Ruby couldn't help but smile a bit. Even if she had no intention to go to the dance, much less with a date, she had to admit it was kind of fun to talk with Penny about it. Some of the messages she had gotten were very funny, and through others she was becoming aware of a vast web of interpersonal relationships that contained nearly every student in the school. The drama was, as Yang would put it, very juicy.

Who knew teenagers could be so complicated?

"You'll have to come to a decision sooner or later, you know," Penny said, splitting her attention between her collection and Ruby. "You can't show up at the dance without a partner."

"Actually, yes I can. Going alone is totally acceptable nowadays. If anyone says otherwise, it's because they're close-minded," Ruby said sagely. "You can look that up later. There are studies about it."

"There are? I haven't come across any," Penny said. "I hope you're not lying, Ruby. The scientific method is not to be taken lightly."

"Okay, you caught me. There are no studies," Ruby admitted. "But the idea's not wrong! When Yang went to _her_ dance, she didn't take any dates. She just went with a bunch of her friends."

"Perhaps you should invite all _your_ friends, then!" Penny suggested cheerfully. "Although that might be a little problematic, considering that aside from myself, you really don't have any friends."

Ruby didn't even register Penny's most likely unintentional dig at her. She was too surprised by her proposal. How hadn't she thought of that before? It was the perfect solution! Suddenly, she actually _wanted_ to go to the dance.

"Are you racking your brain for any candidates?" Penny asked.

"Nope." Ruby smiled. "I already know just who to ask."

* * *

Later in the day, as the sun set outside her window, Ruby found herself splayed out on her bed, staring up at her Scroll like it was a bomb she had to disarm.

Like most ideas, the thought of asking out the Hunt had matured and turned out to be pretty bad, actually. It was a good thing she had held off on asking until she got home, or else she would have made a right fool of herself, and she would have never lived that down.

It wouldn't even have been embarrassing in a funny way. How could she have thought asking out Weiss and Yang and everyone else was a good idea, when they were out there right now, looking for the reason why she had almost died just a couple weeks ago? They were putting themselves on the line for her, and here she was, worried about a stupid school dance.

"Forget it." She tossed her phone away and turned to face the wall, wishing she was wearing her uniform so she could wrap her cape around herself and, just for a moment, forget about real life.

* * *

It was just one little skirmish. Half a dozen Grimm. And she was done with them so fast, nobody would notice she had ever been there. When the Beacon agents got to the spot outside Patch, they would probably think their satellites had malfunctioned and write the incident off as a false positive. She was a ghost. Everything was fine.

And that other Breach opening at the mainland shore, at the other end of the sea between the island and Vale… Well, it would be a bit suspicious if the satellites messed just once, right? Twice made everything more believable.

And three times? Yeah, by that point, there was no room left for doubt. Ruby felt kinda bad for whoever would have to check on the satellites because of her, but maybe she was actually doing Beacon, and the whole of mankind, a great service. What if they found a real error in the detection systems, and because of that a terrible tragedy was averted?

And it wasn't like it had even been that big of an adventure. By the time Ruby got back to Patch, there was still plenty of time before the sun came up. She ran back home, slowing down as she got to her street so she could sneak past her Beacon guardians' van, and entered back into her bedroom through the window she'd left open.

Turning back from petals, Ruby crashed on her bed and fell asleep with a smile on her lips.

* * *

She woke up to a familiar knock on her door, and her father's voice at the other side of it. "Morning! Time to get up, sweetheart. We all love a good Friday, but it's still a school day!"

Ruby sat up, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She'd underestimated how tiring a night of hunting was, especially after she'd taken such a long break. Her muscles were a little achy, and her Aura felt strangely dull too. It was a good kind of tiredness, though.

"Penny's waiting in the living room," her father continued. "She said you two had plans to walk to school together today? That's sweet. It also makes it all the more difficult for you to deny what's _really going on here_ …"

Ruby rolled her eyes. She did _not_ have the energy to bicker with him right now. She slipped off the edge of her bed, getting on her feet and wobbling slightly for a moment. Her nose caught a whiff of something sweet.

"Is that hot chocolate?" she asked, perking up just a bit.

"Yep! Made for one Ruby Rose," Taiyang said. "Get decent – I'm coming in!"

He opened the door and walked in, handing a foaming cup to her. Ruby took it and smiled gratefully to him, then took a small sip. " _Mmm_ , that's great. Thanks, Dad."

"It was nothing. Only the best for my-" He froze mid-sentence, all warmth draining from his face as his eyes locked on her.

Ruby took another sip, frowning slightly at his sudden change in disposition. She lowered her cup and looked down at herself, wondering what possibly could elicit such a reaction…

She was still in her uniform.

"Oh. I… Uh… I-I…"

Shaking slightly, Ruby put her cup of hot chocolate down on her nightstand. In doing so, her hand brushed against Crescent Rose – _oh no oh no oh no_ – which couldn't be a more inconspicuous sight.

"I was… sleeping in my uniform?" she said, her voice barely a whisper. "It's warm a-and it makes me feel better and – I'm sorry!"

She turned to her father, her hands now completely unresponsive to her command. She searched his face for any trace of emotion – hoping for understanding, expecting anger – but there was nothing to be found, nothing.

"I-it isn't that big a deal, Dad. It was just a couple of Breaches! Not dangerous ones either!" she exclaimed. "I was very very careful, I promise! It wasn't even that far away from home, it was just-"

He raised a hand, finally betraying some emotion as he tore his eyes away from her. Ruby shrunk a bit, bowing her head.

"I'm sorry. I know I made a promise, and I _tried_ to keep it, but… I tried." She paused. "I'm sorry."

"I believe you," Taiyang said. "About you being sorry, at least. Oh, I can tell you're sorry. I'm just not sure that means anything anymore coming from you."

Ruby bit her lip. Okay, she deserved that. She knew he was totally, absolutely, one-hundred-percent in the right.

"What's happened to you, Ruby? No, really-" He cut himself short. "Sorry, what I meant was, why in the world do you keep doing the same thing over and over again? You know it's wrong, Ruby! So _why_?"

"I don't know! I mean, it's not like I'm doing it to hurt you or anything, I just…" Ruby threw her hands up. "It's what I do, okay? I fight bad guys. I fight the Grimm, and everything evil! That's my calling. If I'm not doing that, then – I don't know – I'm nothing!"

"What do you _mean_ you're nothing?" her father's voice rose. "Ruby, you've got a life! You have a family, you have your friends, and school – and you've got your movies and comics and your projects – there's so much more to your life than just being a Huntress!"

Ruby closed her eyes, feeling like the room was suddenly closing in around her. Every breath she drew was harder than the last, and for some reason her skin felt hot and cold, hot and cold – the silence was _deafening_ – and she shouted,

"None of that means anything!"

She opened her eyes. Slowly, she lowered her hands from her head. A shaky gasp escaped her lips when she saw the heartbroken expression on her father's face – the same face he'd worn the other day – and suddenly she remembered where she'd seen it before.

* * *

 _"Sweetheart… your mom's had an accident."_

* * *

"You know what the worst part is?" her father said. "I actually thought you were getting better, but you went right back. And you let me believe otherwise."

He turned around and marched out of the room. Ruby stayed frozen for a moment, then went after him. "Dad, wait! I didn't mean it like that – I don't know what I was saying!"

"No, you weren't wrong!" he shouted back over his shoulder, not stopping for an instant. "Nothing else matters to you. You've made that very clear with your actions alone."

Ruby followed him down the stairs, trying to grab him by the arm, but he shrugged her off and made straight for the front door.

"You can go to school now. Or you can go back to your wonderful fantasy, have your fill of it," he said. "Go on. You know what you really want."

"Dad!" Ruby cried. "Stop it, okay, I didn't mean to-"

"What's going on?" Penny came out of the living room, looking utterly confused. "Am I intruding on something…?"

"It's nothing, Penny. Ruby was just telling me how nothing has any meaning for her," Taiyang said. "You could ask her about it, but I wouldn't bother. She mustn't think much of you either."

" _Dad_!"

"I think I should go…" Penny said, edging away with a frown on her forehead.

"No! Just…" Ruby held back a sob. "Everyone just stop. Dad, can we talk about this? Calmly? _Please_?"

"I don't see the point," Taiyang replied. "Like I said, I am _sure_ you're sorry. But we've established that doesn't mean anything, so…"

He opened the door and gestured at the street. Ruby clenched her fists. She couldn't believe this was happening.

How could she have screwed up so badly?

She opened her mouth to say something – a final plea, futile as it was – but she stopped, seeing Penny suddenly straighten up at the corner of her vision. It took a moment for Ruby to understand why that had drawn her attention. It was such an _odd_ movement. It was almost like…

"The van outside," Penny said, her cold eyes looking straight ahead. "It's empty. That, or the agents…"

"Penny?" Ruby asked, taking a step back. "What are you talking about?"

Before Penny could answer, something crashed through the living room window. The round object hit a wall and bounced over to the hallway, coming to a stop between Ruby's feet.

Penny kicked it away – and everything went up in flames.

* * *

Ruby pushed through the wreckage, gasping for air – and immediately regretted it as smoke filled her nostrils. She doubled over, waving in front of her nose as she coughed. Her eyes stung so badly she could barely see ahead of her, but the fires all around her couldn't be missed. The heat was unbearable. If it weren't for her Aura…

"Dad!" she called out, but her voice got caught in her throat.

She stepped forward, heading for what she assumed was open air, but suddenly a flood of wood and concrete came pouring down in front of her. Ruby hopped away dizzily, searching for any point of reference, for anything distinguished among the black and red and yellow.

A voice broke through the crackling of the flames, distorted and varying in pitch every other word. "Mister Ironwood, permission to engage full combat capabilities. Mister Ironwood, permission to-"

The voice faded away. A fire erupted before Ruby, turning her away again.

Something round fell in front of her, heavy enough to sink partially through the debris of the house. Numb, Ruby could only watch as it flashed red again and again again, getting faster – until the sphere split in two, and a Brach opened above it.

Only three Grimm stepped out before the portal closed, but they were as big as the one that had appeared at the school. To make it worse, they had the same kind of metal modifications. Ruby balked, taking a step back in fright…

And steeled herself, all fear giving way to an unfathomable rage. She jumped forward, boosting herself with a kick, and reached for the first Grimm, intending to use her Semblance just like before to dispose of it.

However, just as she was about to make contact, a blinding light enveloped her. When it faded, she was frozen in mid-air. One of the Grimm had its metal arm pointed at her, an ethereal beam shooting from its palm – the thing locking her in place.

Panic flooded Ruby's system. Somehow, this was worse than anything that had ever happened to her. Even her fight with Cinder couldn't compare. At least then, she'd had some agency. Now, she couldn't even _scream_.

The other two Grimm shuffled towards her, their red eyes glowing brightly. In their pupils, Ruby swore she saw the silhouette of a person, cackling madly.

" _Pay now for your ignorance and insolence, slayer girl!_ "

The Grimm raised their claws to strike…

"Combat protocols engaged!"

A green beam of energy pierced through the fire and struck the Grimm incapacitating Ruby, tearing a hole through its belly. As the beast fell, so did Ruby, unintentionally dodging the claws meant to end her.

A figure flew out of the fire, propelled by two green bursts at their feet. They tackled another of the Grimm and carried it away, slamming through the burning wreckage seemingly without any concern for their own safety.

Ruby had no time to marvel at her savior. The last Grimm didn't seem to care that it was alone, advancing on her ruthlessly. Ruby stumbled away from its attacks, struggling to find her footing in the shifting ruins of her house. Her cloak caught on something, and as she lost her balance, a hand closed around her torso and pulled her back.

The Grimm turned her around and lifted her off her feet, looking up at her with hungry eyes. The metal of its body did little to disguise its primal nature now. The drool that escaped the corners of its mouth – the pure evil that _emanated_ from it.

Ruby blinked, and everything seemed to come to a standstill around her. For a moment, her mind was clear of all thoughts. And then came the rage.

"Screw… _YOU_!"

Ruby raised a fist and brought it down on the Grimm's face. It didn't as much as flinch. Her Aura fizzled, and her bones screamed in protest.

Ruby punched again. And again. And again. Her knuckles split, but she kept going. Petals came bursting into existence, flying around her and catching fire.

Her fist broke through something. The Grimm let go of her and fell, its body falling into the flames and being consumed. Her feet hit the floor, and Ruby started to fall too…

A pair of arms closed around her, and she was flown away.

* * *

It took a moment for proper thought to return, and by then Ruby was on her knees on the sidewalk, the glow of the house casting red over her. She blinked and noticed her father beside her, lying down on the concrete. His eyes were closed.

Ruby's heart stilled.

"He's okay, friend. I've called an ambulance already."

Ruby looked up. "Penny? But how – I don't understand. What are-"

Penny raised a hand. She looked skyward, tilting her head slightly. A moment later, she sighed and looked at Ruby again, devastated.

"Apologies, Ruby Rose," she said. "I must depart now."

Penny clicked her shoes together, then hopped in place. Two bursts of green energy burst from her soles, and she flew away like a rocket, soon disappearing from sight.

Ruby fell forward, bracing against the sidewalk with her hands. She lied down beside her father, too shocked to feel anything.

"I'm sorry, Dad."

* * *

 **):  
**

 **This chapter was shorter than I expected, and that hasn't happened to me in a long freaking time. Funnily enough, it was still pretty significant for the overall story - a really pivotal moment, I think we can all agree.**

 **Also, Penny is a robot. What a twist.**

 **I'm still unsure if we're gonna have 8 or 9 chapters. I think I'll have a better idea next chapter, for real this time.**

 **-Zeroan**


	6. Drowning

Entering the hospital wasn't the spectacle that movies and television made it out to be. The ambulance staff didn't go in in a rush, yelling instructions and nearly trampling over people. There weren't gasps and ghastly looks from the people they passed. They couldn't appear less concerned.

And Ruby wasn't clutching her father's hand on his stretcher, bawling her eyes out. No. She was lagging behind, mute and numb to the world of sights and sounds around her. Her mind was simultaneously an incoherent mess of emotions and a thoughtless void.

She barely took notice when the medics turned the stroller and entered a room. Ruby made to follow, but stopped herself short – why, she didn't know. The door closed, and she stayed frozen in the sterile hallway.

What now? Ruby blinked. She looked around and found a bench behind her. She sat down and leaned back against the wall, eyes glued to the door in front of her.

She didn't know how much time passed, but eventually a nurse came out of the room and approached her, carrying a clipboard in her hands. "Miss Rose? Ruby Rose?"

Ruby nodded.

"I need to ask you some questions about your father. He is your father, correct?"

She nodded again.

"Okay. First, do you know – oh dear, you're bleeding."

Ruby followed the nurse's gaze to her hand. Right. She'd hurt herself killing that Grimm. It was still bleeding, but not that much. The pain was barely there.

The nurse left her clipboard on the bench and went back into the room. She returned shortly with a bottle of alcohol and bandages. Ruby stayed silent as the nurse took her hand and poured some alcohol on it, then wrapped bandages around it.

"Those were some serious cuts, Ruby. How did you get them?"

Ruby shrugged. The explanation was outlandish any way she told it, so why bother. And what did it matter anyway?

"Ruby, how old are you?"

The question threw her off, for the simple fact that she had to actually answer it. Ruby's throat tightened. "Sixteen." Gosh, her voice sounded weird. Was it always like that?

"Okay. Is there anyone you'd like us to contact, Ruby? Someone to take care of things with your father. Like your mother, maybe, or any close relative?"

Ruby opened her mouth to say that _no, thank you, that won't be necessary_. But her strength left her before she got the first word out. She felt so small all of a sudden, childlike, and though she was ashamed, she also found a strange comfort in that.

"My sister, Yang."

"Right. She's his emergency contact. Anyone else?"

"Miss Goodwitch."

"Who?"

"No one. Just… just Yang."

The nurse nodded. "Okay. We're getting a hold of her already, so don't worry about that." She looked Ruby up and down with pity. "Would you like to take a shower, Ruby? We can get you a change of clothes."

Ruby looked down at herself. Her uniform was in tatters, her tights ripped and almost all of her cape burnt out. Her eyes stung with tears all of a sudden, but she wrestled them back, angry at herself that _that_ of all things was getting a reaction out of her.

She shook her head. "Can I just stay here?"

"Sure. Make yourself comfortable." The nurse got up. "If you feel bad, or you need anything, call. Don't be shy."

The nurse stayed for a moment to make sure Ruby understood her, then returned to the room, closing the door behind her.

Ruby lay down sideways on the bench and forced her eyes shut, inevitably slipping into a tenuous state between wakefulness and sleep.

* * *

Hours late, Ruby woke up to a hushed conversation near her. She sat up, and as she did, a terrible sensation sank down to her stomach. The lethargy and shock from before were wearing off, and now she so sharply remembered everything that had happened – the ambulance, the Grimm, Penny, the explosion, and before all that…

Ruby leaned forward, a strangled noise escaping her throat. The voices stopped.

"Ruby! You're awake!"

Suddenly, she was pulled into a familiar embrace. Ruby knew it was Yang before looking, but her heart still skipped a beat when they met eyes. Yang smiled down at her – a little smile to tell her everything was alright – and held her tighter.

"I'm sorry, Ruby," Yang said softly. "I flew here as fast as I could."

"Sorry?" Ruby frowned. "What for?"

Yang's smile shrank a bit, and she took a step backwards. She crouched and took Ruby's hands, running a finger through the red, damp bandage. For the briefest moment, her eyes wandered over Ruby's uniform. Yang looked her in the face again, like nothing was wrong.

"You're okay?" Yang asked. "You're tough and all, but… Please tell me you're not hurt."

"It's just a little scrape. Promise," Ruby said. "What… what about Dad?"

A moment passed in silence, then Yang sat down beside Ruby, still holding her hands. "He's okay. He's still out, and the doctors said there are some tests they wanna run on him – just to make sure, nothing serious. The worst is over."

A wave of relief washed over Ruby. If she'd heard anything else… she shuddered to think how she would have reacted.

"We can go see him if you want. We have him for ourselves for now, before they get back to…" Yang's voice trailed off. "Do you want…?"

Ruby almost refused, a not-so-small part of her deathly afraid of what she would find, but she steeled herself and nodded. Yang got up and opened the door to their father's room. She looked at Ruby and gestured for her to follow, a reassuring smile gracing her lips.

It… wasn't as bad as Ruby had expected. If it weren't for the machines and the tubes and the… well, entire hospital setting, Taiyang could have just been sleeping. He looked peaceful enough. Ruby wondered if that was natural, or a product of something the doctors had administered him.

Yang tapped her on the back, encouraging her to move. Hesitantly, Ruby walked over to the bed, stopping beside it, and took his hand. She squeezed and looked up at his face, hoping for some kind of reaction, but he continued breathing regularly. Ruby let go of him and stepped back.

"He's got some burns, but they're gonna heal well with time. He, uhm, inhaled some smoke too, which the doctors said is the more serious problem," Yang said quietly. "He also… hit his head, I guess? So he has a concussion too. And… that's all."

"That's all," Ruby repeated. "Okay. Good."

"All he needs now is to rest and recover while they monitor him. It might take a while for him to wake up." Yang paused. "But! He can wake up anytime, really. Today, even. That's what the doctors told me, at least."

Ruby nodded, not quite able to find the words she needed. She was relieved that her dad was okay. Of course she was. But at the same time, just looking at him, laying there motionless, made her feel like the room was slowly and insidiously stealing the air from her lungs.

"Yang…" Ruby managed to say, finally. "Aren't you gonna ask what happened?"

Yang passed an arm around her shoulders and smiled at her, but Ruby noticed her eyes were avoiding hers – and she wasn't just seeing things where there were none. For some reason, Yang was holding back on her, when she should have been bombarding her with questions. The realization didn't make Ruby feel any better.

Before either of them could say another word, the door behind them opened, and a team of nurses and doctors started coming into the room. "Excuse me, but we'll need the room cleared now," a doctor said, taking a pair of gloves from his coat's pocket and putting them on. "If you could wait outside…"

Yang nodded and lead Ruby out of the room. A nurse followed them, and Ruby got a last glimpse of her father being prepared by the doctors before she closed the door. Her chest tightened, but Ruby somehow kept her cool.

"Miss Xiao Long, there are some things I'd like to talk with you about your father's stay here," the nurse said. "I don't know if you two ever discussed what to do in a situation like this?"

Yang appeared shaken for a second, but then she looked at Ruby and her expression lightened. "No, I guess not. But I can figure things out, I'm sure."

"I can help out," Ruby said meekly.

"Don't worry about it, sis. Let me take care of everything, okay?" Yang kissed her forehead. "How about you go take a shower? Seriously, you smell like the kitchen after that one time you tried to cook for yourself." She twisted her nose. "Actually, you smell better now."

Ruby opened her mouth to argue, when she realized exactly what Yang was doing. She was trying to be subtle about it, but now that Ruby was somewhat more relaxed, she could see it plain as day. Yang was protecting her, taking the brunt of all the bad falling onto them, like she'd done longer than Ruby could remember.

For a moment, Ruby was dismayed, if not outright offended, but she tossed that feeling aside fast. If Yang wanted to play the big sister, then she'd do her part too. The act wasn't to Ruby's benefit alone, after all.

So Ruby pushed down all the bad bubbling inside her and conjured up a smile for Yang. "I guess a shower couldn't hurt."

"You should also change those bandages," the nurse said. "I'll go with your big sister now and send another nurse to help you out. Is that ok, Ruby?"

Ruby nodded, and Yang smiled warmly at her. "See ya when you're not stinky."

* * *

The shower did make her feel better. Just the sensation of the water on her skin, washing away the dirt and soot, cleansing that acrid smell, and the noise of the drops hitting the tilled floor… It was like a little piece of heaven, which she had all to herself. There, she could forget about everything else.

Slowly, Ruby allowed her eyes to close…

A series of images flashed before her – fire, smoke, fanged shadows dancing like string puppets – swirling red and consuming darkness – an amber gaze and a cold white hand.

The noise of the water faded, replaced by silence.

And then, a long, disappointed, but understanding sigh.

Ruby jolted awake, gripping the wall as she nearly slipped and fell. She leaned forward and grasped at her chest, feeling like her heart was about to rise through her throat and spill out from her mouth. A gasp shook her from head to toe, and suddenly she was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, breathing in and out like she was on the verge of drowning.

Ruby covered her ears, closed her eyes, and waited for everything to turn back to normal.

* * *

Half an hour later, Ruby stepped out into the hallway wearing some borrowed t-shirt and sweatpants from the hospital. Her uniform was inside a plastic bag, and she held it close like it was the most precious thing she had. Considering how her entire house had gone up in flames, that probably wasn't an exaggeration.

She wandered through the hospital with a zombie-like disposition, trying to find her way back to her father's room. She knew she should have paid more attention to the nurse's directions before. This place was like a maze, and a very creepy one at that. Ruby was starting to understand why some people hated hospitals so much.

Eventually, however, she found her hallway. With a content sigh, Ruby started marching towards her father's room – only to slow down when she saw her sister standing near the door, and the person she was speaking to.

"Miss… Miss Goodwitch?" Ruby stopped completely. "Miss Goodwitch!"

Glynda had just enough time to turn around before Ruby came crashing against her, nearly taking them both down to the floor. Yang jumped back in surprise and smiled apologetically at a passing nurse.

"Ruby Rose!" Goodwitch said through gritted teeth. "Behave yourself! This is a hospital, not a playground!"

"R-right!" Ruby let go of the Commander's neck, falling back on her feet. "That was inappropriate. Sorry."

Miss Goodwitch looked down at her, eyes sharp. A moment later, her expression softened, and she pulled Ruby into a hug. It didn't last long, the Commander quickly retreating from it, but Ruby was left with a warm feeling anyway.

"I didn't know you were coming," Ruby said. "I mean, I wanted you to come, and I was going to call, but I… kinda lost my Scroll."

"I called her on the way here," Yang said. "But I guess she would have come anyway. Right, G?"

Goodwitch fixed Yang with a disapproving glare. "Yes. Your sister is right," she said. "I should have predicted the situation would escalate this way, but I did not, and that's inexcusable. I feel personally responsible for what happened to your father and yourself, Ruby. If I had been more diligent…"

"Miss Goodwitch, that's not true! You're not responsible for anything!" Ruby protested. "It's not like you've been sitting on your butt. What more could you have done? Lock me in a cage somewhere?"

"Yes, actually, I was thinking just along those lines. But I digress." Goodwitch's expression grew serious again. "Ruby, I will need you to tell me everything that happened. I've investigated the scene on my own, but a first-hand account of the events will be invaluable. But let's not do that here."

She walked away, gesturing for them to follow. Ruby looked at Yang questioningly, but she just shrugged and went after the Commander.

Goodwitch walked down the hallway, peering into every room she passed. Soon she stopped at one and opened the door, ushering Ruby and her sister in before going in herself.

"This should do," Goodwitch said, closing the door. She looked at Ruby severely. "Make yourself comfortable, and start from the beginning."

Ruby stood frozen until Yang pulled up a chair and sat her down on it. Yang shot her a comforting smile, then took a seat herself in the bed beside her.

"I, uh… I had just woken up. I almost overslept, so Dad came to my room to get me," Ruby started. "I was gonna walk to school with my friend Penny, and she was already waiting for me downstairs. So I went down with Dad. And then we were… talking… and something came flying through the window. I guess it was a bomb."

Ruby paused, guilt washing over her. She knew how important her account was to Goodwitch, and so she should be absolutely honest, but the realization that the last conversation she'd had with her father was actually more akin to a shouting match had nearly robbed her of her voice. Bending the truth a little wouldn't hurt anyone…

"Wait." Goodwitch raised a hand to stop her. "There was someone else there? A friend of yours? Ruby, did she-"

"No. Stop. I kinda skipped over some stuff which I guess is kinda important," Ruby said. "Penny's not just my friend."

"Ahah!" Yang exclaimed.

"That's not what I meant! Just listen, okay, everything will make sense eventually." Ruby paused. "Well, it _won't_ make sense, but anyway. So we were talking, when suddenly Penny stopped everything and said something about the Beacon van outside, that it was empty or something. Except we couldn't even see it from where we were standing."

"The van wasn't empty," Goodwitch said. "We found the agents dead inside. We haven't yet determined what happened to them, but… it didn't appear to have been a painful death, at least."

"Oh, that's… that's…" Ruby's voice failed her.

Those agents had been protecting her. They had died for it. For her. And she hadn't given them a second's thought until now.

"They knew the risks of the job, Ruby. Don't let their sacrifice haunt you," Goodwitch said. "We can make this right. Please continue."

"Right…" Ruby took a deep breath. "So, Penny said that… which was weird. And then the bomb came, it rolled over to us… and she kicked it away, but it went off anyway. _Kaboom_! And I blacked out."

Ruby paused, the full weight of the destruction hitting her all of a sudden. Her house was gone, the house she had lived in all her life. The backyard, where she'd played so often with her parents and Yang. All the pictures. Her mother had lived there…

"When I came to, everything was falling apart. There was fire everywhere. I tried to get out, but I couldn't find a way," she continued. "I heard someone talking, I think it might have been Penny. But it was like she was on the phone or something, talking to a General Iron _something_."

"Ironwood?" Goodwitch asked. "General James Ironwood?"

"I guess?" Ruby shrugged. "Then something fell in front of me, and a Breach opened right there. Three Grimm came out. They were just like the one that attacked me at school. I tried to get them with my speed, but they… they froze me? One of them had this weird tech-thingy in their hand, which I think is what did it." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I wonder how that works…"

"Not the time, Ruby," Yang said.

"Right," Ruby said. "They were about to kill me, and there was nothing I could do about it… until suddenly, _zoom!_ , a laser beam came outta nowhere and killed the Grimm holding me! And then Penny came flying in and carried another one away."

"That might explain the carcasses I found," Goodwitch mused. "I was wondering how you took care of three of those beasts on your own, and so efficiently at that."

"Wait wait wait, we're not gonna skip over that – did you just say she was _flying_?" Yang asked incredulously.

Ruby shook her head. "The last Grimm got me, but I punched it in the face until it turned into mashed potatoes. That's how I got this." Ruby showed her injured hand. "And then Penny showed up again and flew me out of the house. She dropped me on the sidewalk beside Dad… and after that, she flew away, and the ambulance showed up."

"Again, she _flew away_?"

"Yes, Yang, we are all equally perplexed," Goodwitch said. "Are you sure this Penny individual referred to General Ironwood, Ruby?"

"Pretty sure," Ruby said. "I don't think I was supposed to hear that, though."

Goodwitch looked thoughtful for a moment. "That thing which opened the Breach – I don't suppose it was anything like what Cinder Fall and her friends used against us?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it, it was exactly like those things!" Ruby's eyes widened. "Miss Goodwitch, you don't think she's behind all of this?"

"I wouldn't doubt her the intention. But no, Fall's had no human contact with anyone but her wardens for three months now, and to lay out such plans in advance – that's too much, even for her." Goodwitch nodded. "We can rule her out safely."

Ruby sighed in relief. She wasn't looking forward to a repeat encounter with that woman, that was for sure. Just thinking about it was-

"Wait. I forgot something!" she exclaimed. "When the Grimm caught me, I heard someone, but they weren't _there_ really. It was like they were speaking through the Grimm somehow, and I _think_ he was a man."

"You mean the Grimm spoke, or was it another weird tech-thingy?" Yang asked. "Because I swear, if they start talking, I am _out_."

"Tech-thingy," Ruby said. "And yeah, I think I'd retire too at that point."

Goodwitch snapped her fingers, recalling their attention back to her. "What did he say?"

"I don't remember very well. Something about me being insolent? And he called me… slayer girl?" Ruby frowned. "He sounded very angry."

Ruby thought she saw a spark of recognition in Goodwitch's eyes, but maybe she was imagining things. Regardless, that brief clarity in the commander's face was soon substituted by a grave expression.

"You've given me much to think about, Ruby. I think another look at the house might be in order. But that's for me to worry about," Miss Goodwitch said. "There's a Beacon safehouse here in Patch which I'll be putting you in for the rest of the investigation. Yang, you aren't opposed to accompanying your sister? For the safety of you both."

"After what happened?" Yang raised her eyebrows at the commander. "You can count me in. But what about Dad? Our bad guy's crazy enough to attack a school full of kids, what's a hospital to him?"

"We'll transfer him somewhere safe too. You won't have to worry about him," Goodwitch said. She turned to look directly at Ruby. "Any objections?"

Ruby knew that was no question, and even if she wanted to, Ruby had little energy left to resist with.

"Good. You understand the situation," Goodwitch said, her voice becoming ice cold. "But we still have to talk about your recent streak of, quite frankly, _reckless stupidity_."

Ruby flinched a bit, and even Yang bristled where she sat, though one look from the commander had her silenced before she could chime in.

"I'm not your superior anymore, but I still expect a modicum of respect from you. What I've learned is that even _that_ is too much," Goodwitch said. "Or do you wish to tell me otherwise? Some bumbling excuse, or a tearful confession? Perhaps it's all a big _misunderstanding_. Hmm?"

Ruby looked at her feet, feeling like her voice had left her. At that moment, Miss Goodwitch was worse than any Grimm or supervillain Ruby had ever faced. She was right, after all, and though she tried to hide it behind the rage and disappointment, Ruby didn't miss the hurt in her voice.

Yang got up from the bed, looking from her to Goodwitch. Ruby met her eyes for an instant, and just that was enough to double the guilt she already felt.

"To answer your question, Miss Xiao Long," Goodwitch said. "Your sister has been going out of her way to break our agreement. Last night she ventured outside of her home, _outside of the island_ , to _valiantly_ dispatch some Grimm. No doubt she thought I wouldn't notice, just as she thought I wouldn't bat an eye when crime in Patch took a sudden and _nearly_ unprecedented dip."

"You've been going out, Ruby?" Yang asked, frowning. "Since when?"

"I… I don't know." Ruby shrugged helplessly. "I didn't think it was that big a…" She stopped herself. There she went again, rethreading the same old grounds. Good old Red Bolt.

"I can't hope to explain this to you, Ruby, and I'm past my days of scolding you," Goodwitch said. "You're not a child. That's what you're always saying, right? Then all I can tell you is to start acting like it. Everyone else has already accepted it. Now it's your turn."

Without another word, Miss Goodwitch walked past her and exited the room, all but slamming the door behind her. Ruby stood frozen for a moment, fearing what might happen if she moved.

A small part of her was angry. Angry at her father, and Miss Goodwitch, for yelling at her like that. It wasn't like she was out to hurt people or to get herself killed. She wasn't an idiot. Ruby knew what she was doing.

Of course, that was the problem. That's what they were trying to tell her. No matter what her intentions were, her actions had consequences beyond herself.

Her mind wandered back to that moment in the shower, and before that, the attack at Signal. That voice…

Ruby jerked back to reality. She noticed Yang was standing beside her now, one hand laid gently on her shoulder. Ruby couldn't bring herself to look her in the eyes.

"It's alright, Ruby. Glynda's just worried about you," Yang said. "Let's go grab something to eat before we talk to her again. She's ought to have cooled off by then."

Ruby didn't feel hungry, but she realized she hadn't eaten anything since the previous night. An empty stomach was just going to make her feel even more miserable. The distraction would be welcomed too.

"Okay," she said, smiling slightly.

Yang watched her for a moment, then opened the door and pushed her out into the hallway. "Hurry up, there's a rebellion brewing up in my tummy, and General Bellybutton sure knows how to rile up the plebs."

Ruby grimaced. "Eew. I thought we had agreed not to talk about our bellybuttons like they're people?"

"Right, I forgot. But hey, have I ever introduced you to Lieutenant Bu-"

"Please don't finish that sentence."

Yang sighed. "It's your loss."

* * *

They ate in the cafeteria on the first floor of the hospital, Ruby nibbling at her food while Yang devoured hers like it was the best she'd ever had. Yang's Scroll kept buzzing in her pocket, though she acted like it wasn't, and that Ruby was hearing it too. Curious as she was, Ruby refrained from asking about it.

Just as they finished, a Beacon agent came up to their table and informed them that Commander Goodwitch was caught up in another matter, and that he would be taking them to the safehouse instead. Ruby couldn't help but wonder if he was lying, and the reason Goodwitch hadn't come was because she was just that furious with her. Ruby knew she had to right to be disappointed, but she was nonetheless.

The safehouse wasn't that far away from the hospital, and traffic was light, but the agent took a lot of weird turns on the way there, sometimes going six blocks one direction before returning through another street. He was constantly relaying his location to other agents and receiving similar updates in return. Ruby was increasingly impressed by the lengths Beacon was going to confound their mystery foe and protect her. It was a humbling experience, to say the least.

Eventually they went down into the parking lot of a tall building in a section of Patch didn't quite recognize, and the agent stopped the car at the most remote spot available. He waited for a while the other agents signaled they had reached their destinations, then gave his own word and shut off communications.

"We should be good now," he said, looking back at Ruby and Yang. "Are we ready to go?"

"Yup," Yang said. "Ruby?"

Ruby nodded. They got out of the car, and the agent immediately lead them to a door and gestured them inside into what seemed like an emergency stairway. Ruby looked up, trying to find the end of the stairs, but she couldn't make it out from the bottom.

"What's this place?" Yang asked as they started climbing.

"Just a hotel," the agent said. "Unless you know what to say at the reception."

"Like a code? This is straight out of a spy movie," Yang said. "Ruby, why didn't you tell me about this stuff? I would have joined Beacon for sure if I had known!"

"Nobody told me either." Ruby pouted. "Whatever. We can have our own secret safehouse-hotel now. We just have to convince Weiss to bank the idea."

"I don't think she is _that_ rich, Ruby."  
"Maybe. It would explain why I haven't gotten my signed album yet too."

By the time they stopped, Ruby had lost count of how many floors they had gone up. The agent went out into the hallway first and returned a minute later, having determined it to be safe. He took them to a door at the very end of the hallway and opened it.

* * *

"There you are… Yes, come out, come out. Stick out your little neck…"

He leaned forward in his chair, a grim smile splitting his lips as he watched the car come to a stop in a parking lot. He directed his drone a little higher to get a better angle on the vehicle and started charging the cannon.

It would be an instant, painless death, far less than what the girl deserved at this point. But perhaps he could aim at the sister first, and get some satisfaction that way. It would be a delightful show of sobs and tears. And if somehow, the girl had the presence of mind to try and escape…

Well, he had developed an appreciation for the hunt, he had to admit.

The Beacon agent got out the car and looked around, his eyes passing over the drone unremarkably. Then he nodded to himself and opened the backdoor. A blond woman came out, followed shortly by another, this one shorter and slimmer, with vibrant red hair…

She turned to look at the drone, grinning.

His table shook under his fists. He tried to fire anyway – the agents meant nothing to him, but he was fuming and someone had to pay – but before he could reach for the controls again, the drone was shot and fell to the ground, and the video feed went haywire.

In a frenzy, he cut off the drone's connection and eliminated anything that could trace it back to him and his lair. Then, with the anger of a men thrice foiled, he threw everything off his desk, and fell into a cold, calculating state of mind.

It didn't matter how many times he failed. The girl and her family might be lost to him, but the hunt went on nonetheless. He would see her pay yet.

* * *

"Well, this place isn't very cozy, but…" Yang said. "We could be doing much worse."

Ruby agreed, somewhat. Their little safehouse turned out to be just that, little. Fitting to the larger building's disguise, it was just like a regular hotel room. There was a room with two beds and a TV, a bathroom, and one more room with an assortment of kitchen apparels and cooking supplies.

It was a better arrangement than they could have ever afforded, that was true. But it wasn't anything to call home. They would be confined there for days or weeks or months – there was no way to know. Just thinking about it was already starting to drive Ruby crazy.

"There's a bunch of DVD's down here," Yang said, examining the drawers below the TV. "I guess that's _some_ entertainment. Wanna take a look?"

Ruby considered the proposal. Truthfully, she wasn't in the mood to watch anything, but just sitting with her thoughts in silence sounded even worse, especially with Yang there to watch her.

"It's not like there's anything else to do," she said. "What movie?"

"I don't know, we have slim pickings here." Yang brought out a DVD case and grimaced. "We're gonna have to request some better material." She patted the floor beside her. "Come help me. I'm not going to be solely responsible for the next hour and a half, no sir."

* * *

The movie they ended up picking, a God-forsaken lovechild from a slasher horror and a mistralian period piece, was as terrible as they had expected. It made sense they had never heard of it. Though it did make for some good laughs here and there – not the director's intent, they imagined.

It was a good distraction. That is, until someone knocked on the door as they neared the credits.

Ruby sat up in her bed, reaching instinctively for a Crescent Rose that wasn't there. She looked at Yang, who had already paused the movie and was now on her feet, one finger pressed against her lips. She pressed herself against a wall and slowly edged towards the door, sliding her feet across the floor instead of lifting them. Ruby would have laughed if she wasn't so scared – was that Yang's idea of stealth?

Yang reached the door and looked through the eyehole for a moment, then quickly tiptoed back to Ruby. "It's a girl," she said. "Orange hair, freckles. I don't trust her, she looks weird."

"Weird how?" Ruby frowned.

"I don't know! Go take a look, you'll see what I mean."

"Way to protect your baby sister," Ruby said accusingly. She got off her bed, walked nonchalantly to the door, and opened it. "Oh. Hi, Penny."

Penny waved at her, enthusiastic as ever. Ruby pretended she didn't notice Yang perk up with interest, and the little smile that sprouted on her face.

"Hello Ruby, my friend-" Penny stopped waving abruptly, at the same time that her face grew serious. "Apologies. Hello, Miss Ruby Rose." She bowed towards Yang. "Miss Yang Xiao Long."

"Hello?" Yang replied, going from excited to confused. "Nice to meet you, Penny."

Penny brightened up for a split second. "Yes, it is very nice indeed!" She turned serious again. "My apologies for the intrusion, Miss Rose, Miss Xiao Long."

"Penny, you can just call us by our names," Ruby said awkwardly. "Come in."

Penny nodded and marched into the room. Ruby closed the door, then looked awkwardly at their unexpected guest.

"So… What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I am here to inform you that I will be participating actively in the protection of yourself and your immediate family for the duration of your sheltered status," Penny said. "I am also here to answer any questions regarding possible sightings of propulsion boots, high density Dust rays, and other such subjects."

The only thing Ruby could do was stand in place, questioning whether she wasn't having some stress-induced daydream or something like that. She looked at her sister for help, but Yang was even more perplexed than her.

"In the absence of questions, I am compelled to offer a summary explanation," Penny said. "Would that be more to your liking? If not, we can explore further options, such as miming, or improv lyrics."

"I think I'll take the first option…?" Ruby said.

"As you wish." Penny nodded. "First off, I, Penny Polendina, am not a real girl. I am neither human nor faunus. To be concise, I am not an organic lifeform like the ones you interact with on a daily basis. I am no animal, or plant, or Grimm… or person."

Penny's eyes seemed to grow sad for a moment, but Ruby couldn't be sure, as within a second she resumed her explanation.

"I am what could be called a synthetic lifeform, though even that is a bit of an inaccurate term. A _life_ like yours is not something I am capable of possessing," Penny said. "I am eternally powered and sustained by a miniature Dust Core located in the area where my heart would be, were I a person. That is how I am capable of imitating _life_ in almost all manners."

"That is how my body works." She gestured at her torso, then tapped her forehead. "As for my brain… I have no such thing, in the traditional sense. My consciousness is a highly advanced Artificial Intelligence program. It is so advanced, in fact, that even I struggle to comprehend it." She paused. "In short, I learn by example. I take in information, and I imitate."

Penny put her hands behind her back and smiled plainly, as if finished. For a moment, there was silence.

"So you're a robot, is what you're saying," Yang said.

Penny blinked a couple times, then nodded. "Yes, I suppose that's correct."

"Neat!" Yang clapped her hands. "And you can fly, right?"

"Yes, by releasing controlled bursts of Dust energy from the sole of my feet. I can match a fighter-jet at my fastest speed." Penny looked to both sides, then leaned forward conspiratorially. "It's really fun too. Sometimes I go flying just for the heck of it."

Penny stifled a giggle, then reassumed her serious posture. She looked inquisitively at Ruby, as if expecting her to have said something by now, but the redhead was lost for words. So much had happened since the explosion, Ruby hadn't had any time to think about Penny. It was all too much, too fast.

"Who… who created you?" Ruby asked the first thing that came to mind, then the second. "Why?"

"Doctor Geppetto Polendina. My so-to-say father. Since his youth, he entertained the idea of building a synthetic like myself," Penny said. "Unfortunately, he could hardly afford to share his ambition beyond his most trusted circle of colleagues. At the least, AI is seen as a troublesome field of work. There were few people then who were willing to have their names attached to such a project. Today…"

Penny shook her head. "For decades, I remained a dream, until at last Father met a benefactor, General James Ironwood of the Atlas military. He was interested in the ways an individual like I could be used in combat and warfare."

Yang snorted. "Typical army dude, always thinking with his gun."

"Father was reluctant, but he realized that, to accomplish his dream, he would have to compromise a little," Penny said. "And so it was that, two-hundred and ninety-seven days ago, I was completed. Made to blend in with mankind, and to defend it. And just in time, too."

"Just in time, really?" Yang crossed her arms. "I think we would have noticed a flying robot helping us out when Vale was being Cinder-ified."

"Oh, I wasn't there at that time. Or any time afterwards. Today was actually the first time I came in contact with a Grimm," Penny said, her voice rising a little with excitement.

"So if you're not out there killing Grimm… What is it you do, Penny?"

Penny's irises shrunk in a swirling motion, and Ruby had the impression that she was withdrawing to think for a moment. It would be a bit odd, however, if such an advanced robot needed time to process. Maybe she was just nervous instead – even though that wasn't very robot-like either.

"After the incident in Vale, General Ironwood decided that my capabilities could be better utilized away from the fields of battle – away from the Grimm – at least temporarily," Penny said. "While I could certainly make a difference, the immediate problem was already being contained by Beacon… and the Hunt."

"But the General wasn't sure he could trust you." She gestured at Ruby, then Yang. "You did prove your worth in dealing with the Cinder Fall situation, and the aftermath, but the reality didn't change that you were largely unknown individuals. The only reputable source backing you up was Director Ozpin, and still that didn't earn you much credence."

"So my duties were repurposed. Once things calmed down, General Ironwood sent me here to Patch, and to a certain school, where I could blend in and observe… you. Ruby." Penny paused. "It was like an evaluation of sorts. Once I was done with you, I would have moved on to one of your teammates. Maybe even you, Yang. And so on." She frowned. "Though that would be rather pointless now, seeing as how you would know you are being observed."

" _Spied on_ , you mean." Yang's eyes narrowed. "Who else knew about this? Beacon?"

Penny shook her head. "The General sent me here exactly because of Commander Goodwitch." She shuddered. "She wasn't very happy when she found out."

"Gee, I wonder why!" Yang turned away, her eyes becoming a faint shade of red.

Ruby hugged her arms and bowed her head, unable to look Penny in the face. Everything made so much sense now – how Penny had been there in the tracking field stands that first day, the one place Ruby had where she could be alone. How she had acted like Ruby being a Huntress was no big deal. And how excited she had been to meet her dad…

"Penny," Ruby said under her breath. "I think you should go now."

Penny opened her mouth to say something, then seemed to think twice and closed it. She nodded apologetically to Yang, then exited the room notedly fast, closing the door gingerly behind her.

"I can't believe this!" Yang exclaimed. "We save the world, and they have the gall to spy on us like we're delinquents? What, I guess we haven't rescued enough cats from trees yet!"

She turned back around, and though Ruby tried to disguise how hurt she was, she had little chance of fooling her own sister.

"I'm sorry, Ruby," Yang said. "Jokes aside, I know you really liked Penny…"

"Yeah, well." Ruby shrugged. "This is just another sucky thing on top of a pile of suck."

"It's okay to be upset, you know. Fake friends are the worst."

Ruby looked towards the door. Had Penny really been pretending to be her friend all that time? She wanted to believe not, but everything pointed to that being the truth.

"Sulking's not gonna change anything." She made an effort to smile, and as forced as it felt, it did make her feel somewhat better. "Let's just finish the movie. Then, I don't know… maybe I'll just sleep."

She returned to her bed and lied down. Yang did the same, resuming the movie. Neither of them was paying much attention to it anymore. Ruby was just too tired, emotionally and mentally, to distract herself any longer, and Yang was more concerned now than she was interested in some dumb, terrible movie.

But Ruby kept to her word. Once the movie was over, she rolled over in her bed so her back faced Yang, closed her eyes, and after what felt like hours, finally sunk into restless sleep.

* * *

The smoke was heavy around her, swirling around her like a vengeful storm. It grasped at her limbs like tendrils of malicious intelligence, pulling on every direction, threatening to yank her off her feet and cast her into the darkness. But Ruby stood firm, even as hair lashed against her face and her cape flew wildly behind her.

She was unmoving. She was light. With a strength beyond her own, she pulled her scythe back, dragging the darkness along on its edge. She pulled it over her head and slammed it against the ground – the concrete; the hard surface of a Vale tower – and the darkness around her came to a standstill.

She breathed out.

The darkness and smoke crashed against like a broken dam, dragging her backwards on her heels. Ruby pressed Crescent Rose stronger against the floor, cracking it, until the storm passed.

For a moment, she saw clear skies, a radiant sun, and a world undamaged. Then the darkness returned, falling around her from the heavens, and from each collision came a Grimm. She yanked Crescent Rose off the ground and joined with it, setting into a ceaseless motion, a swirling of petals and sharp edges, a dance that was born from her soul and overtook everything else.

And in the end, when she'd cut down all the monsters, she faced the last shred of darkness with a smile on her face. It grew before her eyes, its black shape blotting out the sky, two human-like limbs stretching out to trap her between its palms. A mad cackle filled the air. She faltered.

 ** _NOW YOU'VE DONE IT, SLAYER GIRL_**

* * *

Ruby sat up, her heart hammering at her ears like a time-bomb. She kicked the covers of the bed off herself and doubled over, gasping for air. The darkness seemed to be closing in on her, shadows crawling on the walls, the ceiling, the floor, twisted fingers grasping at her ankles…

The soft light of a table lamp came on beside her, and suddenly Yang kneeling beside her on the bed, looking scared out of her wits. She grabbed Ruby's hands so tight it almost hurt, but somehow, it calmed her down enough that she could breathe again.

"Ruby. It's okay. It was just a nightmare." Yang pressed her forehead against hers. "It's okay. I'm here."

Ruby took in a deep breath.

"It's my fault."

Yang pulled back, confused. Ruby dug her fingernails into the palms of her hands, the tightness in her chest nearly robbing her of her breathing again.

"The guy that's trying to kill me," she said shakily. "He's doing it because I kill Grimm. Everything he's done is because of that. The school, Dad, the agents…"

"Ruby, that's nonsense!" Yang said. "There's an asshole trying to kill you – that's _not_ your fault."

"Yes, it is. It's not nonsense!" Ruby cried. "Just think. This all started when I went on TV and said all that stuff about the Grimm. Like, a week later, I'm attacked at school. And then I didn't stop when everyone told me to – I still went out to hunt – and _voilà_ , the guy attacks me again. At home." She paused. "And Dad almost dies."

"Ruby, that's…" Yang pinched her forehead and didn't speak for a moment. "You're just freaking out because of everything that's happened. And that's okay. God, forget all this – even the Cinder stuff before, that was… And nothing's been the same, of course you'd feel-"

"No!" Ruby slapped Yang's arm, shutting her up.

Yang's mouth formed a straight line, and she stared piercingly into Ruby's eyes, as if challenging her to prove her wrong.

Ruby sank on the bed. She was shaking all over now, and when she opened her mouth to speak, her voice came out just short of a sob. "I don't know what to do, Yang."

Yang frowned, her hands hovering uselessly above Ruby's.

"I thought I was doing good, that I was making a positive difference in the world. It's everything I've ever wanted," Ruby said. "But now I think I've just been dreaming. The Grimm aren't gone. They're never gonna be gone. Someday, something's gonna happen that's too big for us to handle. We're just counting the days until then." She paused. "So maybe it's better if I just quit right now, because what's the point? People get hurt even if I try to fight. Might as well _do_ something with my life."

"Ruby, you're not sounding like yourself right now. The Ruby I know doesn't give up like that. She doesn't even think about it," Yang said. She bit her lip thoughtfully, then added, "But if you want to stop, that's okay. Nobody is gonna think any less of you. But you need to think about it. If you give in to despair…"

"Right. I can't give up that way." Ruby paused. "Mom didn't stop."

Yang looked at her, unsure of how to take that last remark. Ruby looked away and waited in agony for Yang to ask her what she meant, knowing that she wouldn't be able to answer. How could she, when she didn't understand herself?

A pang of so many emotions hit her, and suddenly Ruby couldn't hold back anymore. Her entire body rocked with a sob, and then she fell onto Yang, all restraint abandoned as she cried her heart out.

Yang held her, one hand on the back of Ruby's head, the other caressing her arm. She kissed the top of her head, but Ruby barely felt it. Even her sister's warmth wasn't enough to soothe her.

* * *

 **):**

 **This chapter was a tricky one. I didn't want to make it too much of a mope-fest (this is a Ruby story, after all), but sometimes, you can't escape from reality. I guess that speaks for the theme of the story, eh?**

 **We're definitely going to have nine chapters, by the way. Rejoice! Extra content! Yahoo!**

 **Oh, and we're gonna have a surprise next chapter. Dee hee hee. Just you wait.**

 **-Zeroan**


	7. Heroes and Villains

Very unsurprisingly, airing her feelings out to her sister didn't make Ruby feel any better. Somehow, she had fallen back asleep after her distressed confession, and woke up the next morning, nuzzled up against Yang.

She laid there for a moment, eyes wide upon and fully awake, and it was as if everything had been made clear. She couldn't quite put to thought what she was feeling, but she knew it was… true. Like an answer to a test which, for the life of you, you can't remember, but you know to be right.

And then Ruby sunk deep into herself, into a hollow state of mind. There was a lot for her to think about, questions to explore, but to focus on any of them for any longer than a minute…

It was better just to settle into the hollow. Safer. Easier.

Yang woke up shortly after. She looked at Ruby with poorly-disguised concern, and for a moment Ruby feared she would start to ask questions with answers she wasn't ready to give. But then her eyes softened, and she ruffled Ruby's hair a bit.

"You wanna give another of those awful movies a try?"

That interaction summed up how they spent their time after that. They exhausted the safehouse's poor movie collection, Yang tried to cook decent food for them from what she found in the kitchen, and Ruby doodled on a notebook she discovered in one of the nightstands.

Ruby could tell Yang was worried about her – she'd have to be blind not to notice – but thankfully, that worry never escalated into anything more. She figured Yang was afraid what would happen if she pressured her in any way, and though Ruby felt awful that she was making Yang feel that way, she couldn't deny her relief. They had gone through enough already. Losing each other would be the last straw.

They weren't _totally_ alone, however. Penny dropped by twice each day, knocking on the door once at eleven o'clock in the morning, then again nine hours later, and she was unfailingly punctual. She was working hand-in-hand with Beacon to catch Ruby's aggressor now, and since she it was much easier and safer for her to be moving around than any regular person, she was entrusted with checking up on the sisters regularly.

That had obviously led to some very awkward interactions. At first, Ruby had gone out of her way to not talk, or even _look_ , at Penny, leaving the whole thing up to Yang. But once she caught on to Yang's rather _harsh_ attitude towards Penny, she pushed past her own discomfort and took the initiative.

She realized it was a little odd. It wasn't like she was particularly happy with Penny, and she knew Yang was mostly angry at the girl – robot? – _robot-girl_ on her behalf, but she couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for her. It wasn't like Penny was _choosing_ to be there. She probably felt just as badly about the arrangement. So why make things even worse by being antagonistic towards her?

Ruby wasn't ready to forgive Penny. She wasn't even sure how to feel about her yet. But after everything that had happened, Ruby didn't very much feel like rocking the boat.

Maybe it also helped that Penny had been bringing cookies to give her on each check-up. And strawberries. And ice cream from her favorite place near school.

Just maybe.

So with Penny, and Yang, and her Dad still unconscious in some other safehouse, Ruby had enough in mind to keep herself from another breakdown. _Hollow_ , as it turned out, wasn't so overwhelming a state of mind. As far as coping mechanisms went, it wasn't all that bad.

Provided there was nothing to break her from it.

* * *

"All agents in position?"

Glynda pulled her hair from its bun and let it fall slightly disheveled to her shoulders, covering her ears and her communications device. She looked up casually, over the racks of clothes and at the mirror hanging in the top corner of the department store. She caught a glimpse of red in the reflection before the drone left it. Her expression didn't change in the slightest.

" _Affirmative. West exit._ "

" _Affirmative. Main escalators._ "

She wasn't sure whether to take the sight of the drone as a point towards her hunch being correct. On the one hand, anyone that thought she, Glynda Goodwitch, would go out unaccompanied to a shopping mall, in the middle of an active investigation, just to look at some clothes, either didn't know her very well, or wasn't terribly bright themselves. On the other hand, maybe that spoke to an arrogance which she knew her suspect to be in no shortage of.

" _Affirmative. East exit._ "

" _Affirmative. North exit._ "

" _Affirmative. Food plaza_."

She was going out on a limb. A fairly long and frail limb, no doubt, but her choices weren't plenty, and the longer the perp went uncaptured, the more likely it became for him to do something drastic. Time was of the essence.

" _Affirmative. Parking level._ "

"Penny?"

Glynda glanced at the mirror again with a little dread. She wouldn't be _entirely_ disappointed if her hunch turned out to be wrong.

" _Affirmative, Commander!_ "

"Affirmative. Moving out now."  
Here goes nothing.

Glynda brushed her hair off her shoulder, then walked out of the store, keeping a moderately alert posture. It wouldn't do to appear _too_ relaxed. Her intent was to give the impression that she was losing hope in the investigation, but still working it out of duty. She had to be at the perfect balance to not tip off her stalker and give him the confidence to move on her.

She walked over to the escalator nearby and stepped onto it, briefly crossing eyes with the agent stationed there. Once she reached the top, Glynda took a sharp detour west, heading towards that exit. She stopped at a storefront to gaze uninterestedly at a dress, then feigned a resigned sigh and moved on.

He took the bait. As she neared the exit, Glynda caught the red of the drone's eyes reflected on the tiled floor. It was hovering behind her, closing in from above, silent and deadly. A compartment opened under it to reveal a small cannon-like object, which shortly began to glow.

Dust. Of course. Because what didn't this bastard have at his disposal?

" _Everyone out!_ " Glynda shouted, taking out her pistol and shooting upwards, then hurled herself to the side. A Dust blast struck the ground where she'd been just a second before, pulverizing parts of it and sending shards of ceramic everywhere.

The crowd was already fleeing in terror when Glynda got back to her feet. She found the drone again and took aim, but was forced to jump aside when another blast came her way. Dust filled her vision, and she threw herself back to the floor just in time to preserve her head.

She jumped to her feet and ran out of the dust, taking quick aim and shooting, but the drone was already flying past her towards the exit. Just as it neared the doors, however, an agent came out of the fleeing crowd and took a precise shot with a Dust rifle, knocking the weaponized aircraft down.

There was no time to be triumphant. The fallen drone was starting to glow incandescent, casting all Dust colors onto the storefronts around it.

"Quickly, Penny!"

The robot came flying above the crowd, eliciting many startled cries, and landed beside the drone. She took it in both hands, and its glowing lessened substantially. Glynda watched fascinated as her irises shrunk and spun like clockworks.

A distorted voice came from the drone, " _What is this – take your hands off this instant, you – you-_ _just what are you, you freckled wench?!_ "

"Please, refrain from using such offensive terms," Penny said, pouting a little. "They are very upsetting, Doctor."

" _Why you – fine, be blown to smithereens!_ "

The drone shone brighter, but Penny tightened her grip on it, and it returned to its former state.

" _Just what are you doing?! Hands. Off!_ " the voice shouted. " _MELT, TIN CAN!_ "

Penny let go of the drone abruptly, and it rolled away from her, warping the tiles under it. Glynda raised her pistol and started to take aim, but Penny beat her to the punch, raising a palm and releasing a Dust beam from it. The drone was shattered into littles pieces, and from amidst them fell a canister of liquid Dust, bubbling with an ominous hiss.

"Careful, Commander!" Penny shouted nervously, flying over to Glynda and pushing her back with an arm. "Temperature readings are dangerously high! Stay behind me for safety!"

Glynda didn't object. Maybe she ought to be offended that this robot in form of a little girl was protecting her, but if she had to choose between her pride remaining intact or her life…

Well, Penny wasn't the first girl to save her from imminent death.

"The Dust appears to be cooling," Penny said after a minute passed. "We are safe now."

Glynda walked out from behind Penny. "Very well." She cleared her throat. "That was frightening, I will admit. This isn't an obscene quantity of Dust, but…"

"It was concentrated with maximum efficiency," Penny said. "I calculate the blast would have blown an area equal to half this shopping mall." She turned to the Commander and saluted. "Good thing that didn't happen!"

"Indeed," Glynda said. "The risk was worth it, then?"

Penny processed for a second or two, then nodded. "I was able to extract a good amount of data from the drone's connection before its destruction. More than enough to confirm your theory, Commander," she said. "Our mystery enemy's name is, indeed, Doctor Thaddeus Merlot."

Glynda cursed something foul, causing a little gasp from Penny. Being right had never felt so unrewarding.

* * *

Ruby gave one last swipe with her pencil and leaned back, giving a critical eye to her work. It was decent enough, she supposed, though it lacked most of her usual flair. Not all that surprising, seeing as she wasn't in the best of moods lately.

She started to make some slight changes on the sketch, but not long after that, she heard the door open and Yang walked back into the room with an unusual skip on her step. Ruby looked over her notebook at her, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"I was just talking with Penny," Yang explained. "We've got good news!"

"Dad's awake?" Ruby asked.

Yang's face soured. "Uh, no," she said quietly. "Not that good. Sorry."

Ruby tried not to appear disappointed. "It's alright. Didn't mean to burst your bubble," she said. "What _is_ the good news?"

"Well, G-Witch got a hunch about who our bad guy is, and she went to test it out yesterday with Penny's help. And bingo!, she was right." Yang pumped her fist excitedly. "Turns out it's some doctor guy named Merlot. Though from what Penny told me, he doesn't sound like any doctor I'd come to for a check-up."

"Hmm." Ruby bit on the blunt end of her pencil for a moment, then shrugged. "Okay."

She looked down at her notebook and got back to work. Or she would have gone back to work, if Yang hadn't stomped over to her bed to stare down at her, hands at her hips.

"That's it? _Okay_?" Yang asked. "Aren't you at all interested in the guy who tried to kill you? Twice?"

"Not gonna lie, I am a little bit interested," Ruby said distractedly. "But I'll wait to find out more once they've caught him."

A moment of silence passed. Ruby ventured to look at Yang, and from the uneasy expression on her face, she could tell the exact words she'd chosen hadn't passed Yang by.

"Look, say you do tell me everything about this guy. Give me his autobiography to read. What's the point?" Ruby shook her head. " _I'm_ not gonna go catch him. I don't even _want to_. Hearing about him would only make me…"

Ruby's mind flashed back to the nights she'd gone out to hunt bad guys, and the Grimm. Nights she should have been doing anything but that. She knew her track record.

"You get me." Ruby shrugged. "I'll just let Miss Goodwitch deal with him."

"Okay. I guess that's the responsible thing to do…" Yang said unsurely. "You really don't wanna catch him?"

"No," Ruby said casually. "And it's gonna stay that way."

After that, Yang seemed to accept her decision and walked to the kitchen to fix herself something to eat. Ruby took the opportunity to erase her new uniform design and began to draw something entirely unrelated to anything superheroic.

Maybe it was just another coping mechanism, Ruby was starting to feel very proud of her newfound self-control. She couldn't deny a part of her still wanted to go out there to _make things right_ … but she wasn't listening to that voice anymore.

Little superhero Ruby Rose was starting to grow up, baby-step by baby-step.

* * *

It was too bad, then, that when she was finally starting to make some progress, the universe – and the people around her – decided to changed gears and do everything to oppose her.

The following day's eleven o'clock knock at the door came as punctual as always, but when Ruby opened the door to greet Penny, she didn't find the robot-girl alone as usual. Miss Goodwitch was with her, though it did take a moment for Ruby to identify her in her civilian clothes. It was like bumping into a teacher at the mall – those _entities_ weren't supposed to wander outside their plane of existence, and they weren't supposed to wear t-shirts and, God forbid, _jeans_.

"Hi, Miss Goodwitch," Ruby said, slowly recovering from the surprise. "Fancy seeing you here." She paused, fishing for anything to say. "You… dropping us some groceries?"

"Good morning, Ruby," Miss Goodwitch said impassively. "May we come inside?"

She didn't wait for an answer, brushing against Ruby's side as she walked in. Penny looked awkwardly at Ruby for a moment, then bowed her head in a vague apology and followed the commander.

Ruby closed the door, getting anxious as she remembered how angry Goodwitch had been with her the last time they'd seen each other. It was hard to believe she would still be angry after so much time had passed, but Ruby could never be too sure with her former boss. Her happy and displeased faces were pretty much the same – it was usually her tone of voice that gave her away.

Yang walked out of the kitchen with a frying pan on her hand. She had been trying to figure out how to make pancakes for a while now, and though she was usually an excellent cook, she was inexplicably having a hard time getting the hang of those. Ruby didn't judge, though, not having a tenth of her skill in that area.

"Hey, Miss G," Yang said. "Fancy seeing you here. What, you dropping us some groceries?"

Miss Goodwitch stared at her for a while, then turned to Ruby, exasperated. Alright, she wasn't angry anymore. But she was had probably realized the full ramifications of sticking the two of them alone in a room for a week – and how things could only get worse in the future.

"Good morning to you too, Miss Xiao Long," she said, shaking her head slightly. "No, I am not making a delivery."

"Shucks," Ruby and Yang said simultaneously, then looked at each other and snorted. "Weirdo."

Goodwitch looked from one of them to the other, as if determining whether they were quite done with that act. Ruby leered at Yang to make sure she wasn't going to speak up or do something to embarrass her, then turned to the commander.

"Sorry, Miss Goodwitch," she said. "Why _are_ you here? Did you catch the evil doctor dude?"

"Not yet. And that is part of the reason I'm here," Goodwitch said. She looked at Yang. "How much did you tell her?"

"Well, I was going to tell her everything, but she didn't wanna hear it, so…" Yang trailed off. She looked down at her pan and found in it the perfect excuse to retreat to the kitchen.

Goodwitch looked back at Ruby and frowned, not out of confusion, but concern. Suddenly it made a lot of sense why Yang had disappeared so fast. She'd told Goodwitch everything. When and why, Ruby had no time to wonder – and no time to be upset either.

"His name is Merlot. Thaddeus Merlot," Goodwitch said. "He used to be an agent of Beacon, and quite a high-ranking one at that. High enough to know of the agency's true purpose, regrettably."

Ruby blinked. When had she heard that before? Oh, right. Back when the world had almost ended. Good old times.

"Merlot was an invaluable asset as a scientist. He was actually the one to design our Grimm-detecting technology," Goodwitch continued. "Unfortunately, he had an unhealthy interest regarding the Grimm. An interest that warped into obsession and, ultimately, adoration."

"He was obsessed with Grimm? You mean like those jerks that kidnapped me?" Ruby asked.  
"Yes, fairly similar." Goodwitch paused. "Though Merlot was – _is_ – a different beast altogether. He believes the Grimm to be the perfect lifeforms, so far above people that… There is no apt comparison." She twisted her nose. "He is absolutely deranged."

Ruby shuddered. Worse than her kidnappers? They had worshipped Grimm, but she supposed it wasn't entirely their choice, not exactly. They had looked into the bottomless darkness, and their minds had broken. Their worshipping was their one way to cling onto reality.

This Merlot didn't sound like he was broken. Not in the same way, at least. How scary was that?

"We tried to get him help, but by then, Merlot was too far gone. He fought back, fled Beacon, and vanished," Goodwitch said. "That was so long ago, we thought he might have died. Obviously, that wasn't the case."  
Yang returned from the kitchen without her pan, smelling like something burned. "Miss G, do you mind me asking how many supervillains have an origin story of being Beacon agents? I'm not saying there's a pattern, _but_ …"

Goodwitch scowled. "I've been fighting the Grimm for three decades. I _could_ tell you about the many good agents I've worked with, and the many ways they left the line of duty… but that would make it so very hard for you to make light of them, and we wouldn't want that, now would we?"

Yang bowed her head and mumbled an apology. Goodwitch drew a sharp breath, then looked at Ruby again.

"We've confirmed it is Merlot that's targeting you, though his motivation remains only a theory," she said. "But you are right – the timing of the attack, after your interview with Lavender, not to mention your frequent encounters with Grimm… It all points to him despising your work as a Huntress."

Yang seemed to somehow become even quieter. Ruby had mercy enough not to look directly at her.

"So he hates me," Ruby said. "I think that was clear enough from the start. Why are you telling me all this?"

"So you're filled in, of course," Goodwitch said. "And because I think you might be useful in tracking him down."

"Oh, so now you _want_ me to help. That's great," Ruby muttered bitterly. "I'm not going to do anything, okay? What if Merlot finds out? My Dad's already gotten hurt. I'm not putting anyone else in danger."

"Rest assured, Ruby, I wouldn't be asking you if I weren't aware of that risk. Precautions have already been taken regarding your school. Your father is secured. And your teammates have been made aware of Merlot," Goodwitch said. "If I could ask anyone else, I would."

Ruby looked away crossly. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. Miss Goodwitch pleading her to take a risk after yelling at her for that exact thing! God, she was almost fuming…

" _Fine_ ," Ruby said. "What do you want me to do?"

"Merlot is a ghost. We've only got one lead, and that's the portable Breach openers he invented and supplied to Cinder Fall. I've interrogated her twice already, before and after knowing about Merlot. She didn't give me anything." Goodwitch paused. "But she will talk to you. She made a point of that."

Ruby felt her chest tighten somewhat as she took in the extent of Goodwitch's words. She opened and closed her hands for a while before finally settling them into fists, and shook her head.

"I'm not gonna talk to her. Sorry," she said. "You're gonna have to find some other way."

"Ruby… I understand your reservations. I too would rather you didn't come a country's length close to her," Goodwitch said. "But she is the only resource we have on this, and I'm taking her at her word. Cinder will talk to you."

"And I am _not_ going to talk to her. End of story," Ruby stated firmly. "You can go now."

Goodwitch made to touch her shoulder, then seemed to think twice and lowered her hand. "If you change your mind…"

"Yeah, I'm not going to."

Ruby was surprised at the strength – strength, was it? – of her own voice. She wasn't even sure why she was so deeply opposed to the idea. She only knew that the image of herself sitting across from Cinder Fall and asking her how to find the man who had almost killed her father was enough to make her stomach turn on itself.

Thankfully, Miss Goodwitch didn't try to argue with her and left the room. Penny remained for a moment. She hadn't said a word throughout the conversation, but her eyes were glued to Ruby now, spinning and spinning… She took notice of Goodwitch's absence eventually and left in a hurry, closing the door behind her.

Yang looked up hesitantly and flinched at the look in Ruby's eyes. _Don't talk to me_. She fled to the kitchen again, and this time without foreseeable return.

Ruby sat on her bed and seethed in silence.

* * *

That was, by far, the worst day Ruby had yet to endure in the safehouse. She could almost feel the silence – both her own and Yang's – pressing on her, and every little look, every meeting of eyes, was like swallowing a pill of some foul medicine.

It would have been easier if she were able to stay angry for long, as any other person might be able to do. But that kind of anger was not in Ruby's nature, and as much as she prided herself on that, today she wished she was different. Maybe then she wouldn't have noticed how miserable Yang looked, or even better, taken some vindictive joy from it.

When Penny knocked on the door for their nightly check-in, then, Ruby almost ran to respond. Somehow, she managed to restrain herself, instead walking briskly to the door, not looking at Yang as she passed her by.

"Hello, Ruby," Penny said neutrally as she stepped out into the corridor. "I am here to ascertain your safety and comfort, as usual."

"Mhmm." Ruby shut the door behind her, trying to appear casual.

Penny took a small step away from her, eyeing the door strangely. They had fallen into a habit of making this a very quick conversation, for both their sakes. For once, however, Ruby was more comfortable with her than with Yang, sadly enough.

"Alright. So," Penny spoke again, assuming a more formal posture and tone. "Have you been in contact with anyone aside from myself and Commander Goodwitch since our last meeting?"  
"Nope," Ruby said, her eyes darting everywhere but Penny. It was _still_ an awkward conversation.

Penny nodded. "Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary? Anything that might indicate a possible breach of your security?"

"Nope. But Yang screwed up the pancakes-" Ruby grimaced. "No."

"Have you found any reason to feel unsafe or uncomfortable in your assigned space?"

Ruby bit her tongue. Well, she definitely felt _safe_ … "We're good."

Penny nodded again, then gave Ruby a little smile. "We _are_ good, then." She paused. "Good regarding your safety, that is. Not…"

She trailed off, her smile slowly morphing into a straight line. Ruby looked at the door reluctantly.

"We're done for now. If you wish to go back inside, you may," Penny said, a hint of an apology in her voice. "But I can't let you remain here without my supervision, I'm afraid."

She raised a foot and turned halfway around, casting Ruby an inquisitive look.

"It's okay. You don't… uh…" Ruby wet her lips, finding her whole mouth to be quite dry all of a sudden. "You don't have to leave right away."

Penny turned back around and joined her hands behind her back, one foot tapping almost imperceptibly on the carpeted floor. She was either nervous or excited, or both, and trying not to show it. Ruby couldn't blame her – she must be looking almost as fidgety herself.

"So, uh…" Ruby said awkwardly. "The weather! It's gonna be wild, eh?"

"Actually, reports indicate that it will be a mild week overall, with a gentle rain in the late afternoon on Friday – though some sources say it is more likely to occur the following morning instead." Penny perked up. "Would you like me to read you an in-depth report on temperature and precipitation levels? It is quite informative."

"No…?" Ruby blinked.

Penny's countenance fell somewhat. "I'm sorry, I forgot myself there for a moment," she said. "You see, it is liberating to not have to hide my true nature anymore, but that doesn't excuse such overeagerness on my part. I can tell it is the cause of much distress on your part."

"Distress?" Ruby repeated confusedly. "Penny, I'm not distressed. What are you talking about?"

"I read your mannerisms and analyzed your internal-" Penny stopped. "I mean, it's obvious that you don't feel comfortable around me, and justifiably so. I don't blame you at all." She looked down at her hands. "I'm just a machine. A robot with a body of cold steel with a computer for a brain. How could anyone not be uncomfortable in my presence?"

Ruby tensed up, like one does when they realize the person they're talking to is about to cry. Then she remembered Penny couldn't cry, and that only made Ruby feel worse for her.

"Penny, I'm not… I'm not _uncomfortable_ around you because you're… what you are," Ruby said carefully. "What you are is actually pretty awesome. My best friend is a robot! She's built to kick ass and kill Grimm! Who else can say that?"

Penny looked up, her eyes widening a bit in surprise.

"But… my best friend is a robot, and she didn't tell me about it. She didn't tell me she was spying on me for some stranger," Ruby said. "That's why I'm uncomfortable around you, Penny. I'm sad, and a little angry, to be honest. That's why."

"Oh. I didn't realize." Penny frowned. "No, I did realize. But I didn't…?" She tilted her head in confusion. "I should have seen that from the start. With your character, there was no reason to believe you would be disgusted at my nature. I should have realized you would be excited, actually. But…"

She shook her head, her irises spinning on overtime. Ruby smiled slightly and patted her on the shoulder, drawing Penny's gaze back to her face.

"See? If you were just a machine, you would have seen the truth right away. But you got confused, 'cause we're friends," Ruby said simply. "What's more human than that?"

Penny blinked, and her eyes returned to normal. Her lips parted into a hesitant smile. "Does this mean we're okay? I'm not sure how this kind of thing is supposed to go."

"Well, it depends. Since I'm a great friend, I'll say we're okay," Ruby said, raising her chin haughtily. "I know your report on me was only going to say good things, so where's the harm?"

Penny opened her mouth to say something, then thought twice of it and nodded. "A shining example of what a Huntress should be!"

Ruby crossed her arms contently.

Penny's eyes went to the ceiling suddenly. A moment later, she nodded and looked back at Ruby. "I'm sorry, Ruby, but I have to leave now. Father is getting worried."

"Oh, okay. I wouldn't want to keep you," Ruby said. "I'll be okay."

She looked back at the door to her room, crestfallen. Just when she was starting to feel better, Penny was going to leave. So much for a friend's comfort…

Before she left, however, Penny raised a hand and spoke again. "Ruby, I'd like to ask you a question about this morning, and it might be a little personal. May I?"

"Uh, sure? As long as it's not, like, embarrassing?" Ruby asked skeptically.

"It's about the answer you gave Commander Goodwitch. Or, more specifically, your reaction to her request," Penny said. "You were quite staunch in your refusal. And while you mentioned the well-being of your father, I don't think that was your main reason. Your reaction to Cinder Fall's name, it was…" She thought for a moment. "Perhaps I am missing the obvious again, but you displayed signs of some sort of trauma."

Ruby pursed her lips, not quite following Penny's logic. "What are you trying to ask me, Penny?"

"I'm sorry. I think you are afraid of Cinder Fall. More afraid than expected," Penny said. "Is it because of what happened in Vale? Or earlier, perhaps? You should know, she poses no harm to you as she is now." Penny raised her hands amicably. "I'm not asking you to try and change your mind. I'm just worried you might need help."

The suggestion was so mind-boggling, for a moment Ruby thought she had misunderstood what Penny was saying. She was somehow traumatized by her encounters with Cinder? No, that wasn't true.

Well, not completely.

"I'm not… It's not like that," Ruby said, struggling to form coherent words. "I just don't wanna talk to her. I don't want her help. She's a bad guy!"

" _And_ she's the only person we know who can help us catch Merlot," Penny noted. "Ruby, you've faced a lot worse than Cinder before, haven't you? You should be able to do this, no problem. So why won't you?"

Ruby took a deep breath and raised her hands to her forehead, only to realize then how badly they were shaking. "L-look. Just tell Miss Goodwitch I'll do it."

" _Ruby_ ," Penny said firmly. "I am still worried."

"I'll do it, okay? Just tell her."

Penny looked at her disapprovingly. "I really must go now. Good night, Ruby."

Before Ruby could say anything, Penny walked away, disappearing after a turn in the hallway. Feeling anxious, Ruby went back inside the room.

* * *

"Ruby, get up already, you potato!"

Ruby sat up in her bed and hissed, protecting her eyes from the sunlight filtering in through the shutters. "W-what? It's so early!"

"Yeah it is!" Yang shoved her lightly in the shoulder. "Goodwitch's been waiting in the hallway for half an hour now! She's mad enough to kill someone and _I'm_ not the useful person in this room!"

"What do you mean she's waiting?" Ruby rubbed her eyes. "Waiting for what?"

"For you! She's taking you to Cinder, remember?"

There was a knock on the door, strong enough to make the lamp on Ruby's nightstand shake. Yang cringed.

"Just a minute! She's finishing her morning push-ups!" she screamed. "Ninety-three! Ninety-four! Ninety-five!" She turned towards Ruby. " _Don't make me dress you_."

Ruby jumped off her bed and fished her clothes from the floor, putting them on hastily before realizing she had forgotten to take off her pajamas first. Yang almost kicked her in the butt for that. The only reason she didn't go through with it was because it would only make her take longer.

Finally, Ruby was dressed. She started towards the door, but Yang caught her wrist and started patting her head in an attempt to make her hair appear at least halfway decent.

"Okay, now you only look like a hobo, not a jungle child," Yang said once she was finished. She distanced herself a little from Ruby and held her by the shoulders, giving her a warm look. "You'll be fine, right?"

It was a sort-of apology. An unwarranted one, Ruby realized.

"Yep. Thanks, sis."

She smiled, hoping that was a good enough apology of her own. If not, they could always talk later.

Ruby skipped to the door and went outside. She was surprised to find Miss Goodwitch there, not fuming as she had expected, but casually reading a novel.

"Ah. What a pleasant surprise." Goodwitch closed her book. "I was equipped for a much longer wait."

She looked down at Ruby, and her expression was so startingly familiar to Yang's, Ruby thought she might be dreaming still.

"I'm glad you changed your mind, Ruby. But why?"

"I don't know." Ruby shrugged. "I wouldn't be much of a hero if I backed down just like that."

"Is that so?" Goodwitch furrowed her brow, and Ruby felt like she was reading _her_ now, and she made for a particularly puzzling mystery novel. "Well, far be it for me to argue. Come. It's a long flight to where we're going."

She walked down the hallway, and Ruby jumped to catch up to her, trying to ignore the anxious feeling in her belly.

* * *

Standing before the entrance of Cinder's cell, Ruby thought she had never felt more nervous. Even in the thick of battle, even in Vale when the world had been in the brink of chaos, she hadn't shaken so badly – in fact, those moments might just be when she was at her most confident.

But that… That was fury and violence and bravery, all in the span of mere seconds. This was silence. The unknown.

Had her legs always felt like jelly?

"You're sure about this?" Goodwitch asked, standing close beside her.

Ruby reached forward, running a finger on the door's metallic surface. "Is this Oumnium?"

Goodwitch nodded. Ruby whistled quietly.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

Goodwitch leaned forward and scanned her eye. The door opened with a slight hiss. Ruby took a deep breath and stepped inside, keeping her cool as the way closed behind her.

The room wasn't what she had imagined, though she did realize that expecting stone walls and manacles and a jailor constantly sharpening his axe in a corner was a little much. In reality, the room was quite… normal. Four walls and a ceiling of a clean white color, and a thick sheet of glass – or something that looked remarkably like glass – that separated it in two perfect halves.

There were worse places to carry out a lifetime sentence – if you had no desire to escape, that is.

Time, as well as a healthy dose of fear, must have warped Ruby's memories, because Cinder wasn't as nightmarish as she remembered. The mere presence of her didn't steal the air from Ruby's lungs, and neither did her eyes melt a path through the glass to pierce Ruby's heart.

She was young. And without her signature red dress, she _looked_ young, enough so that she could pass for one of Ruby's classmates. Somehow, she managed to make her orange prisoner jumpsuit look flattering. The sleeves were cut in a V-shape on each side, as were the pant legs. Ruby almost laughed at the realization that Cinder had taken the time to personalize her clothes.

"Oh. I… didn't think you'd actually come."

Cinder's voice was so soft, so full of wonder… Another thing to catch Ruby off guard. Not entirely in a bad manner.

"Well, then… Why did you ask in the first place?" Ruby asked, trying to sound strong. From the look on Cinder's face, the attempt wasn't very successful.

Cinder stood up and stretched a little, then walked over to the glass wall and smiled plainly. "A girl can hope."

Ruby scowled. She looked at the chair on her side of the room, but decided not to sit until Cinder did. She didn't want to have the villain towering over her.

"Okay." Ruby crossed her arms. "Where's Merlot?"

Cinder raised an eyebrow at her. Slowly, she sat in her chair, then gestured at Ruby's. "Why the hurry?" she said. "I asked you here. I'm not going to just give you what you want right away, Ruby."

Ruby flinched at the sound of her name. Without thinking, she started to turn around.

"Wait. I'm sorry." Cinder raised a hand. "Please sit. I _am_ going to tell you what you want."

"…You'd better." Ruby sat down. It was hard to appear dignified and in control when she was unnerved out of her wits. Perhaps it would be easier to let Cinder dictate the flow of the conversation.

"Okay. Now that we're on the same page…" Cinder leaned back casually. "How's life?"

Ruby gaped. "…Is that a joke?"

"Oh, not at all. My comedy is much better than that." Cinder looked at the ceiling in wonder. "Well, it depends on the audience."

"You're asking me about my life?" Ruby asked.

"Yes," Cinder said. "Why do you think I asked to talk to you?"

Ruby just sat, stupefied. Of all manners this conversation could have went… She never would have imagined this.

"Okay, I will admit this is odd. You probably expected me to, I don't know, gloat at you? Torture you psychologically? Yes, that _does_ sound like me." Cinder shrugged. "The truth is, I'm bored."

"…You're bored," Ruby repeated.

"Very." Cinder paused. "I've been stuck in this cell for three months. Going in, I really did believe the experience wouldn't phase me. I was wrong." She smiled humorlessly. "I've been defeated by _loneliness_. How funny is that?"

Ruby shook her head. There was no doubt in her mind that Cinder was playing some sort of trick on her. Maybe she _was_ bored, and her way of dealing with that was by making a fool of her. Ruby couldn't hope to understand.

She sighed. "What do you wanna know?"

Cinder thought for a moment, then nodded. "How's school? That sounds interesting. I never had a formal education, you know." She gestured grandiosely at herself. "Doesn't seem to have hindered me much."

"…I haven't been to school in a while now," Ruby said grudgingly. "It's not safe. Because _Merlot_ is trying to kill me." She tilted her head significantly.

"Is he now?" Cinder shook her head. "I suppose it's only to be expected. He is a lunatic in every sense of the word. Tough luck you were the one he chose."

"No luck," Ruby said. "I made him very angry."

"Right." Cinder smirked. "I can see why."

Ruby held back a sharp retort. _How can you know anything about me?_ She had to keep her cool, just until Cinder gave her what she wanted.

"What has he done to you?" Cinder asked.

"He sent his weird Grimm to attack me at school. Then he blew up my house with my Dad in it," Ruby said icily.

"Oh." Cinder frowned. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's _okay_. What do you care?"

Suddenly, Cinder's entire posture changed. Her back straightened and her eyes bore into Ruby's, sharp as daggers. Her fingers tapped along the edge of her chair, causing the air around them to waver with a supernatural heat.

"Would it make it easier for you if I acted this part?" she spat. "Do you want me to play the villain? I will, if it makes you more at ease." She leaned forward, and for a moment of pure terror Ruby forgot there was glass separating them.

"You _are_ the villain," Ruby said. "What, you think you're-"

"I don't think anything. I am who I am," Cinder interrupted harshly. "You call me a villain to make yourself feel better. Because killing Grimm, oh, that is easy. But when you put a human face on the enemy… No, you don't want that. So, let's pretend. Let's play _heroes and villains_."

"You opened a Breach in the skies of Vale for the whole world to see," Ruby said through gritted teeth. "You _killed_ Torchwick!"

"And here I am…" Cinder gestured at the walls around them. "Because I surrendered."

"Because we had you outnumbered," Ruby said. "You were going down either way."

Cinder smiled at her, and suddenly Ruby _knew_ she was telling the truth. Cinder would have defeated her and the others and escaped. She could be free right now. But she wasn't.

"Ruby, I do understand your way of seeing things. I _can_ see it. But I know better," Cinder said. "The one you hurt the most with these fairytales is yourself. Because if I am the worst of all villains… then you _must_ be the infallible hero."

A heavy silence fell upon them. Ruby wanted to stand up and walk away, but something kept her frozen where she sat. Maybe it was the knowing expression on Cinder's face – maybe it was the pity lurking in the depths of her eyes.

"So." Cinder raised a hand towards Ruby, as if making a proposal. "Heroes and villains?"

* * *

"She didn't give you anything?"

Ruby shook her head. Disappointment colored Miss Goodwitch's expression, but otherwise, she remained as professional as ever.

"I suppose it was a far shot," the commander said. She gave Ruby another through glance as she started walking away from the cells. "Nothing at all?"

"Nothing _useful_ ," Ruby conceded. "Though she did talk a lot."

Miss Goodwitch gave her an apologetic nod, then scanned a card to call down an elevator to carry them up to the surface.

"This is on me," she said. "I should have known she had no good intentions. Bringing you to her… God, what a fool I am."

Ruby looked up at Goodwitch, realizing she had never seen her quite so shaken. The stress of the investigation and everything else must be taking a toll on her.

"It's okay. I'm not angry or scared or anything," Ruby said. "I'm kinda glad I talked to her, actually."

The elevator opened, and they got in.

"Are you, now?" Goodwitch asked. "You seemed prepared to toss me out of a twenty-stories window for merely suggesting the idea, not twenty-four hours ago."

"You know I would never do that, Miss Goodwitch!" Ruby exclaimed, appalled. "I love you too much."

Goodwitch sighed, exasperated. "I'll never understand children."

The elevator closed and started to rise. They rode in silence, and Ruby was glad she had managed to avoid the question, though she was aware that was by no effort on her part.

* * *

Ruby got back to the hotel safehouse in time to have lunch with Yang – if microwave noodles could be called lunch, and they definitely could, in Ruby's world.

Their brief animosity forgotten, Yang filled the silence with questions about Cinder. How miserable she was a main point of interest, though Yang also deemed very important to ask if Cinder's hair was still as smooth and shiny as she remembered, and if Ruby had by any chance found out what shampoo they supplied in Beacon max security cells.

Ruby answered as well as she could, trying to keep an aura of ease about her. Truthfully, she was still processing her conversation with Cinder. She had a lot to think about, and it wasn't stuff she could easily share even with Yang.

Unfortunately – or not – her time for pondering was cut short was by a late afternoon visit from Penny. Ruby prepared for the worst, knowing Penny wouldn't break protocol except for the most urgent of matters.

Her father had woken up.

* * *

For safety reasons, Ruby and Yang hadn't been told where their father was being kept, though they had agreed that it was probably someplace similar to their own. They were surprised then, and almost affronted, when Miss Goodwitch drove them over to the main Beacon headquarters in Patch.

"You two, shush," the commander said, turning to look back at them as she parked the van. They hadn't even said anything yet, though admittedly, they were about to. "I thought this over very carefully. Your father couldn't be in a more secure location."

"Couldn't he?" Yang asked, a little red in the face. "This place doesn't exactly scream _inconspicuous_."

"And that would be a problem if my only goal was to hide him," Goodwitch replied patiently. "But he needs medical attention. Bringing doctors in and out of a safehouse would inevitably draw attention. This is better." She stopped the car and retrieved her keys. "Trust me, Merlot's toys wouldn't survive five seconds inside here."

"What about the mecha-Grimm?" Ruby piped up. "They were a problem even for me! If he sent them to get Dad-"

"Ruby, I'll be last to doubt your capabilities, so please extend the same grace to me. This is Beacon." She lowered her glasses and raised her eyebrows at Ruby. "Also… mecha-Grimm?"

"What? We've gotta call them _something_ ," Ruby said defensively.

Goodwitch got out of the van, and Ruby quickly forgot to be angry at her as she remembered where they were, and more importantly, why. To say she was nervous would be an understatement.

She hadn't been in the best of terms with her dad when everything had gone down, and while that didn't seem to matter that much considering the mess they were in, Ruby still felt bad about it. And if Yang found out Ruby had been keeping the full truth from her all this time, after everything she had gone through and put up with…

They walked over to an elevator, and as they waited for it to arrive, Goodwitch said, "I advise you to act with _some_ discretion. We're safe here, but only so much. It's likely Merlot has eyes inside the facility."

"It is?" Yang asked, shooting Ruby a glance. "Why did you take us here, then? Doesn't seem all that smart."

"Agreed," Goodwitch said, and not another word left her mouth after that. Ruby smiled as she noticed the commander's face soften a bit.

They got in the elevator, and not a minute later they were in the first floor of the facility. Ruby was hit with a wave of nostalgia as she looked around at the agents that walked by them and nodded at Goodwitch. She hadn't had any reason to visit the place since the Vale situation, and though that actually wasn't that long ago, it certainly didn't feel so. It was like visiting a childhood playground – a playground with deadly laser guns and satellite feeds and all that fun stuff.

"What a bunch of nerds," Yang snorted.

"Yang!" Ruby punched her arm.

"Just saying it like it is," Yang said. She looked at Goodwitch. "Where's Dad?"

It sounded less like a question, and more like a demand. Ruby realized Yang was probably just as nervous as her, and her way of dealing was by making jokes. Not very mature, but it wasn't like Ruby didn't do that all the time too.

Goodwitch lead them down a hallway, then another, and another one after that, and soon Ruby had lost track of where they were within the facility. She had done some exploring during her days as an agent, but the place was still largely a mystery to her. Good – if she was confused, Merlot also had to be.

Eventually, Goodwitch stopped at a door and opened in, ushering Ruby and Yang into what appeared to be a waiting room of sorts. It was empty save for a row of chairs near a wall and a table with some bottles of water in a corner. There was another door across the first one, and standing alert in front of it was Penny.

"Ruby, friend!" Penny said, perking up. She looked at Yang and bowed her head a little. "Miss Xiao Long."

"Hey, robo-girl." Yang put her hands on her hips. "Are you guarding our dad?"

"That's my current imperative, yes." Penny nodded. "I've just performed a full scan of the facility. No threats detected. Shall I perform another? It would be no problem."

"Hmm." Yang looked Penny up and down. "No."

"Thanks, Penny," Ruby said. "Can we go in?"

Penny looked at Goodwitch for confirmation, and at her nod, stepped away from the door.

"We'll be here if you need us," Goodwitch said. "Keep alert, Penny."

"Always, Commander."

Yang walked over to the door and put a hand on the knob, then looked back at Ruby. Taking a deep breath, Ruby joined her sister, and together they went inside the room.

* * *

"Well, now. Isn't this a sight for sore eyes."

In an instant, nearly all of Ruby's dread evaporated. Just the sound of her father's voice was enough to bring a mist to her eyes. Judging from the way Yang squeezed her hand, she must have had a similar reaction.

"Sheesh." Taiyang said. "Ease up, you two. What is this, a funeral?" He grinned. "Although, maybe the issue is that it _isn't_ a funeral. I'll let you know in advance, I'm not leaving all that much for you in my will, okay?

"You… you jerk!" Yang shouted. "I can't believe I was going to cry over you!"

"See?" He shook his head. "So greedy."

Yang let go of Ruby and marched over to his bed. "You're unbelievable." She glared at him for a moment, until finally her shoulders dropped, and she smiled at him. "It's good to see you, Dad."

"Good to see you too," Taiyang said. "And you'll remember I made that clear from the start. How forward-thinking of me."

"Okay, you must have been awake for a long time now," Yang said. "No way you're coming up with all of this on the spot."

"Where else would I come up with this?" He gestured at his bed. "By God, Yang, I didn't raise you to be this insensitive."

Yang sighed. "Ruby. Please help."

Ruby took a step forward and stopped. Taiyang turned to look at her and gestured for her to come closer, a smile on his face.

"Dad…" Ruby muttered. "I'm sorry."

He tilted his head a bit, forehead wrinkling, then reached out to take her hand in his. "What are you talking about? Ruby, you've got nothing to apologize for."

"But I'm the reason you're here, like…" She gestured at him helplessly. "Like _this_."

He looked down at his covers and shrugged. " _This_ is nothing. I'm hurting a little, sure, but I'm becoming ancient. Soon I'll be hurting all the time."

Ruby glowered. "Can you even walk?"

"Not yet. _But_ , same thing. Soon I'll be speeding around in a wheelchair. Hopefully one of those cool motorized ones." Taiyang raised a finger and flicked it at the air. "With a turbo button too. I'll be the coolest grandpa in town."

"Now, now, don't get ahead of yourself…" Yang said measuredly.

"I'll tell _you_ not to get ahead of yourself!" he replied indignantly.

Taiyang wiggled an eyebrow at Ruby, but that elicited no reaction from her. She knew what he was trying to do, but no joke was going to make her forget how they had gotten to this point.

Taiyang turned to Yang, dropping his smile entirely. "Please tell me she hasn't been like this all this time."

"Well…"

Ruby locked eyes with Yang intently, though she wasn't sure what she wanted to stop her from saying. The truth was obvious anyway, especially to their father, of all people.

"I tried to keep her out of her funk," Yang said. "But you know her. Wouldn't stop blaming herself if a judge descended from the heavens to tell her she's innocent."

"That's because it is my fault!" Ruby said. "I'm not saying I wanted it, but Merlot targeted _me_ – and you got hurt in the process." She pointed at her dad. "If I'd been less of an idiot…"

"Merlot is _insane_ ," Yang hissed. "He's a lunatic in every sense of the word."

"She's got a point," Taiyang noted. "Merlot was wrong in the head _before_ his Grimm research blew up in his face and he disappeared."

Ruby opened her mouth to argue, but Taiyang raised a finger and waved it in her face, silencing her.

"Ruby, I don't blame you. Not in the slightest," he said firmly. "If nothing else, can you at least accept that?"

She pursed her lips and forced herself to nod. That didn't seem to convince Yang, as she exhaled loudly and turned away, her eyes wandering sharply to the ceiling.

"Yang," Taiyang said gently. "Could you wait outside for a bit while I talk to your sister?"

Yang turned back towards them, and this time the full wrath of her gaze fell on Ruby. Her eyes were on the very brink of turning all red, only a faint tinge of violet remaining. Ruby trembled, wishing her father hadn't said that – and wishing she hadn't been so selfish. Why did she have to act so miserable all the time?

"Fine. I'll let her have her pep talk," Yang said. " _Take your time_."

She stomped out of the room, all but slamming the door shut behind her. Ruby flinched at the impact, then looked apologetically at her father.

"I'm sorry, Dad," she said. "I didn't mean to ruin everything. You almost died, you woke up just now, and here I am, crying and playing the victim…"

"I'd rather you be honest with yourself than bottle everything up," Taiyang said. "Secrets are dangerous things, you know. Hurtful things." He nodded at the door. "Best to let them out before you pop."

"…You know, just because you're a dad, doesn't mean you're wise," Ruby said.

"I was wise _long_ before I was a dad. Just maybe not wise enough, depending on whom you ask," Taiyang said. "Now how about you pull up a chair and tell me what's _really_ going on in that pesty little head of yours."

Ruby hesitate, considering if perhaps it wouldn't be better if she refused and invited Yang back inside. But that wouldn't do her any peace of mind. Her father had a point regarding secrets.

She picked a chair from a corner of the room and brought it over to his side, then sat down. Ruby thought for a moment, very aware of her father staring intently at her. She was sure he didn't mean to be overbearing, but… well, he was. But since he had been asleep for a week, she couldn't really be angry at him.

It was hard to talk. Ruby had never been a stranger to an honest talk with family, but… Nowadays, she had a lot on her mind, and nothing was as simple as annoying subjects at school or how she couldn't get her last crazy design _just right_. Nothing was that simple anymore.

"I… I know it's not my fault. What happened back home, it's all on Merlot," Ruby said. "But at the same time, it's not _all_ on him. And I don't mean that in a convoluted, I-did-that-so-he-did-this, kind of way. It's my fault because I am a…"

 _A hero_. Such a silly thing to think, she was glad she hadn't finished that sentence. She could just _see_ Cinder's knowing smirk.

"…a Huntress. But even before that…" she continued. "It's just who I am. And that's what I meant before, when we had that fight. I said I was nothing, and that nothing else meant anything, and it's not because I don't love you or anything. It's just… I'm a Huntress. That's me."

"I'd argue you're a hell of a lot more than that," Taiyang said. "But okay. You feel that way. And?"

"And… Being that person used to be much easier before. Now it's… complicated." Ruby frowned. "I don't know if what I do means anything. If it makes any difference. And what if it's, like, a _bad_ difference?" She sighed. "It's exhausting, and it's not supposed to be that way."

"I think what you're going through is something called _growing_ up." He raised a hand in advance. "Now don't give me that look. I know how I sound. But I promise it's not that. Just hear me out."

Ruby made a face, but nodded for him to continue.

"When I was young, I wanted to be a cop."

"What!" Ruby snapped up in her chair. "No you didn't!"

"It's the truth. It was my dream since I was a little kid, and it stayed that way a long time," Taiyang said. "I was nearly on my way to the academy when I met your mother – well, we already knew each other for a while but – long story short, she got me into Beacon. Or, more accurately, I followed her like a dog on a leash… because I was a man in his twenties."

"You told me you were high school sweethearts!" Ruby protested.

"We're getting lost in the story." Taiyang shook his hands at her. "I had spent all my life wanting to be a cop. And then I was an agent of Beacon, which, _wow_ , that's even cooler! Except I wasn't out in the field, busting criminals and slaying monsters. That was Summer." He tapped his head. "Me? I was the voice in her ear. I was the more-often-than-not useless helper."

"So you were unhappy, and that's why you quit," Ruby said.

"Nope. I was happy. But then a had a little girl… and another one after that. So I pulled out of the business, because one of us had to," Taiyang said. "I became a professor. And more importantly, I became Remnant's Number One Dad. And that was the best choice I ever made."

"Okay." Ruby crossed her arms. "Moral of the story?"

"The moral is, you never know what you're really meant to do. _Never_." Taiyang pointed at her. "You might be happy as a Huntress now, and that's fine. You might still be a Huntress thirty years from now. Also fine. Or maybe you'll make a career of taking in stray dogs and cats. Unexpected, but also fine."

Ruby tried to imagine herself as anything other than a Huntress, but it felt strange, if not wrong entirely. But she wondered if Miss Goodwitch had always wanted to be the right-hand woman to the Supreme Director of Beacon. Probably not. But that was who she was today.

"Mom never changed, right?" she asked.

Taiyang shook his head. "She wanted to be a hero. Always. Just like you."

"Did… _Do_ you ever get angry at her because of that?" Ruby looked away. "Sometimes I do. I know it's wrong, but…"

"Are you crazy? Of course I get angry at her. I used to get furious with her about that stuff!" Taiyang said. "But it was just moment-to-moment, you know? Because I knew that, even if what she did was stupidly dangerous and kinda irresponsible, it was important. Not just to her either. To the whole world."

"…Was it?"

He snorted softly, and Ruby knew she couldn't have been more obvious. "She saved lives every day. What's more important than that?" He raised a finger. "The key was, she was smart about it. Oh, she was daring. Didn't have a fraction of the fear she ought to have had. But she was smart."

"Smart how, exactly…?" Ruby asked.

"For one, she didn't do stuff without letting other people know about it first." Taiyang smiled wryly. "And that was most of it. She always had people watching her back."

Ruby nodded. "Okay, so… If, hypothetically speaking, she was in a situation where, by risking her life, she would save a _bunch_ of people… Do you think she would do it?"

"Define _risking her life_."

"As in, go in blind against a crazy guy who wants her dead, and who probably has, like, a thousand Grimm under his control to toss at her. Also, they're mecha."

Taiyang hummed under his breath for a while, then nodded. "I think she would do it in a heartbeat."

"And how would _you_ feel about it?"

"I'd be angry out of my mind. And proud." He winked at her. "I wouldn't let her know the last part."

Ruby grinned. She stood up, looked at him for a moment, then turned around and left. In the waiting room, she was met by the questioning stares of Penny and Goodwitch, and a somewhat regretful glance from Yang.

"Okay. So," she said. "I might have lied about my talk with Cinder. She _might_ have told me a way to find Merlot."

Yang and Penny perked up with interest, while Miss Goodwitch stayed remarkably unimpressed. It was almost as if she had seen this coming.

"Well?" Yang prodded. "What is it?"

"See, the reason I didn't tell you is because you're probably not gonna like it," Ruby said.

Goodwitch shook her head and looked at the ceiling, but Ruby had a hunch she was only doing that to hide how smug she felt.

"I mean, you were almost the victim of a ritualistic sacrifice once," Yang said. "I don't think anything could ever top that one."

"You seem very tense, Ruby," Penny noted. "Perhaps you'll feel better once you share this plan, yes?"

Ruby braced herself. " _Well_ …"

* * *

Ruby reached the top of the graveyard hill and looked around, dragging her hands along her clothes in search of pockets to protect them from the cold. Each moment she spent in this cosplay, the more she realized how terrible it was. Not only were the colors off, the cape was also way too small. Not to mention the tightness of the collar…

"Hey, Mom," she said off-handedly to the grave. "Sorry, not here to talk. Just needed somewhere open and empty." Ruby gulped. "Say, there aren't ghosts here, right? And if there are, they wouldn't be angry with me, would they?"

No answer came from the grave, obviously. Ruby was too old to be disappointed. She muttered a little self-encouragement under her breath, then stood on the tip of her toes and spoke out loud.

"Hey! Doctor Merlot! Come over here, I know you're watching me!"

She didn't have to wait long before a ray of Dust came flying her way. Ruby turned into petals, and the blast hit the grass instead, making a patch of grey on the hill.

"Hey! No shooting! Respect!" she shouted. "I just wanna talk, you jerk!"

A moment later, a drone came into vision, hovering down just a few meters in front of her.

" _And what trick are you trying to pull this time?_ " Merlot's voice buzzed from the drone. " _Where are your Beacon friends, girl?_ "

"Back in headquarters," Ruby said. "I'm came here by myself."

" _You assume me a fool! As if you'd ever show your face like this, alone! I demand you tell me where they are hiding!_ "

"Nowhere." She rolled her eyes. "You're the one with the drone. You can search for as long as you want. I'll wait."

Merlot was silent for a moment.

" _You come to die, then. Finally tired of the running and hiding…_ " he scoffed. " _No, no, I know. You're offering yourself as sacrifice, to save your family and friends! So predictable it's sickening!_ "

"That's only kinda it," Ruby said. "I'm not here to die. I'm here to make a proposal."

" _Hah! Just so we're clear, I never intended to stop with you. In fact, I was starting to make plans regarding your white-haired friend up North. She's so careless in her arrogance_ -"

"You target anyone else, and you'll regret it forever." Ruby scowled. "Are you gonna listen to my proposal?"

" _I feel more inclined to disintegrate you where you stand_."

"You'll also regret that, because then you'll always know I was better than you."

Merlot's drone wavered in the air, then zoomed in so close it almost hit her nose.

" _Whatever do you mean with that nonsense?_ "

"Well, you've tried to kill me twice now, and both times I got the best of you – even with you playing dirty," Ruby said. "What would you be proving if you killed me when I'm not putting up a fight?"

There was no response. Ruby had to fight to keep her triumphant smile from showing.

"That's right. You don't want that bothering you forever," she said. "So knock me out instead, and whisk me away to whatever hole you're hiding in. Then we'll settle once and for all who's better – me, or your Grimm. No tricks. No outside help. What do you say?"

The drone hovered backwards slowly. A minute of silence later, its cannon started to glow, just slightly.

" _Stand very still_."

Ruby closed her eyes and smiled.

She couldn't have chosen a better place.

* * *

 **oooooof**

 **This chapter, man. So much stuff. So. Much. Stuff. And all so very important...**

 **There's this rule in writing which says "if it's not necessary, if it doesn't add anything to the story, cut it". But what do you do when everything feels so important? And you can't just slap everything together, you gotta connect scenes properly... That makes chapters like this even longer. What a pacing nightmare...**

 **I kinda wish now I hadn't made a mystery out of Merlot's identity. It might have afforded me more room to breathe all around. But it's too late now.**

 **I have more to say, but I think I'll leave that for the last chapter (9, that is, not the next).**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **(Also, what's with me and making Ruby and Cinder have these reverse-interrogations scenes? Seems like a trend...)**

 **-Zeroan**


	8. Lusus Naturae

The first thing Ruby became aware to once she woke up was the sharp pain in the side of her neck. It wasn't so bad that it was debilitating, but it certainly was irritating – like a mosquito bite. A mosquito with a high-density Dust cannon for a mouth.

Then, as she became accustomed to the pain, she felt the soil under her. Soft. Loose. Sand? Yes, it smelled like it too. And that other smell… salt? She heard what sounded like the crashing of waves.

Gathering her strength, Ruby managed to push herself into a sitting position, and carefully opened her eyes, having already surmised she was fully under the sun. She was met with the sight of an empty, pristine beach, and water that stretched on with seemingly no end. The ocean.

"Where the heck…?" She got up, wincing as the movement renewed the sting in her neck. Ruby turned around, and before her lay a forest thick with vivid-green foliage and exotic trees.

But she didn't linger on that for long, as her eyes were soon drawn to the spire that rose deep in the forest. On the very top of it stood a fortress of steel. Contrasted with the blue of the sky and the green below, it made for a haunting sight.

Ruby stood for a moment, thinking, and while she did so, her hands wandered distractedly over her borrowed costume. As expected, the tracker Miss Goodwitch had put on her was nowhere to be found. But her scythe…

Smiling, she took Crescent Rose out and unfolded it. Then, she took a step towards the fortress.

" _Ahah! I see you've already caught on to where you need to go._ "

A Griffon landed on a tree in front of her, its eyes focused intently on her. Its claws and the tip of its wings were replaced with metal, and two turbine-like mechanisms were fused seamlessly to its hind legs. Ruby stared for a moment, holding in a laugh as she thought what a monstrous child between a Grimm and an airplane this creature was.

" _And you already know you're going to be met with much resistance on your way there. Perhaps you aren't as dull as my observations suggested,_ " Merlot's voice crackled from the Grimm. " _But most likely you are._ "

"Thanks. So I'm gonna have to fight my way towards that mountain over there?" Ruby asked. "That's where you're waiting?"

" _Very dull indeed._ " Merlot sighed. " _Yes, yes, girl. That is your mission. Your_ heroic task _. Do I need to explain more, or have you grasped the concept yet?_ "

"No, I got it," Ruby said. "I mean, I was expecting something just like this. The lone hero against an army of robot monsters, their evil master watching the spectacle from above. So exciting!" She grinned cockily at the Grimm. "So, you just stay put in your hidey-hole, okay? Don't ruin my fantasy."

Merlot screamed, and the Griffon echoed him with a roar and leaped from the tree, diving towards Ruby, the turbines on its legs igniting. Ruby jumped to the side, spinning, and cleaved the creature in half before it reached the ground.

The Griffon fell in two pieces, each twitching for a moment before stopping completely. Ruby walked over and winked at its face. "Not so fun when it's an even game, eh?"

" _Keep that smile, little wench,_ " Merlot's voice came, faint and distorted, but the vitriol in his words struck Ruby as if he were standing in front of her. " _Treasure the memory when you're rendered helpless by my angels' wrath_!"

Ruby's mouth made a little round shape. "…Okay." She pointed Crescent Rose at the Griffon, then spun it around so it rested on her shoulder. "You really know how to play the mad scientist. Thanks! I'll try to keep up!"

Ruby turned and walked into the forest, keeping a determined expression even as her heart beat like drums inside her chest.

* * *

Glynda stared impassively at the screen, eyes shifting restlessly from one sector of the map to the next. She was looking for a sign, any sign, and one second's distraction could mean missing it. Too much was on the line for her to fail now. Far too much.

The sheer magnitude of her task didn't discourage her. It was probable Merlot was hiding somewhere close to Vale, but that was no guarantee, and so they had cast a much wider net to catch him – a net that encompassed the whole globe. Even with the collective vigilance of a dozen agents, success was unlikely.

Fortunately, she had valuable help to count on. From whom it came from, that was the part she regretted, but her feelings didn't matter at the moment.

"Penny," James Ironwood spoke, standing at attention near one of the monitoring terminals. The screen displayed a video feed of the ocean from up-high, stretching as far as could be seen. "Run a scan. Any sign of the Grimm or Miss Rose?"

There was a moment of silence, then Penny's voice buzzed in through the terminal. " _Scan completed. No abnormalities detected, Sir. The area is clear. Should I double back and run another scan, Sir?_ "

"Stay where you are," Ironwood said. "Continue overseeing the area around you. Five-kilometer radius. Low altitude. Understood?"

" _Affirmative, Sir._ " Penny started her flight. Her video feed was only waves and the occasional bird. No change.

"You're just gonna keep her there? _Still_?"

Ironwood looked back at Yang, and Glynda saw the barely-restrained rage in his face. Forgoing her duty for a moment, Glynda walked to Yang and brought her over to a corner.

"Yang, I understand your frustration," she whispered. "But please try and keep it under control. We are trying our best."

"Are we?" Yang hissed. "That jerk has kept Penny flying over _nothing_ for seven _freaking_ hours. What, does he expect her to just stumble into Merlot's base?"

"That's where we lost track of Ruby. It hasn't been a very promising lead, I agree, but what else do we have to go on at this point?" Glynda said. "Unless you have a suggestion, Miss Xiao Long?"

Yang pursed her lips. "Don't _Miss_ _Xiao Long_ me," she grumbled. "I just don't get why he's here. We were doing fine with just Penny. And he _spied_ on Ruby!"

"I don't think that's what you're upset about."

Yang's eyes fled hers, and in her face Glynda saw guilt and anger – and, of course, fear.

"You gave Ruby your vote of confidence," Glynda said. "Did you not?"

"Yeah. And I wasn't lying. I know she'll give Merlot hell," Yang muttered. "Doesn't mean she'll come back, though."

When an agent fell in the line of duty, the responsibility their commander's responsibility to inform their family. It was a responsibility Glynda accepted with all the grace deserved. As such, she had grown used to being the bearer of bad news.

Even so, it was still difficult. Every time.

"Remember, Ruby trusted you too," she said, laying a hand on Yang's shoulder. "She gave you a job."

Yang looked at her for a moment, eyes wavering, before nodding firmly. "I know." She took a step back and glared at the back of Ironwood's neck, then left the room with her chin raised confidently.

Glynda returned to her terminal. Ironwood approached her, an infuriating little smile on his lips.

"You always were good with children," he said.

Before Glynda could give him any more than a glare, Penny buzzed in again. " _General Ironwood, Sir._ "

Glynda stood to attention, as did Ironwood. "Did you find something, Penny?"

" _No, Sir. Sorry, Sir._ " Penny didn't speak for a moment, as if hesitant. Judging from her feed, it seemed like she had temporarily halted her flight. " _I have a question, if that's not a bother, Sir._ "

Ironwood raised an eyebrow. "Permission granted."

" _Once I find Miss Rose, Sir_ …" Penny said. " _Am I to retrieve her and immediately bring her back to base? Or am I to assist her in the subjugation of Doctor Merlot?_ "

"You will first report to me," Ironwood said. "Then you will act as I see fit."

" _And if she is in danger? Should I wait on your orders nonetheless?_ "

"Yes. You _will_." Ironwood shook his head, thoroughly bewildered. "Does that answer your question, Penny?"

" _…Absolutely, Sir._ "

Penny took off again. Glynda could swear she was going a little faster than before, however, and she was needlessly close to the ocean below her, causing violent waves to rise in her wake.

"Oh my," Glynda said dryly. "Don't take this the wrong way, James, but it appears you aren't half as gifted as myself in these matters."

"She's a robot, not a child," Ironwood pointed out gruffly.

"And that's your defense?"

He huffed and returned to watching Penny's feed. Glynda took a quiet delight in how red his face had become.

* * *

Merlot's island had appeared so beautiful and tranquil when Ruby had woken up, but of course, she quickly learned how untrue that was. She had known from the start – the man was an evil mad scientist, after all – but she liked to wait on judging things until she had some personal experience.

And what an experience she was having.

" _You really do think yourself an acrobat, don't you?_ "

Ruby spun around, cutting a mecha-Beowolf in two before it could slash her in the back. As she landed back on the floor, another Beowolf came running out from the green, swinging claws towards her. Thinking fast, she pressed a foot against a tree behind her and pushed, vaulting over the monster and slashing its head in two from the top.

" _I suppose your peers would consider that impressive. Foolish humans!_ " Merlot cackled. " _You are nothing but a circus monkey! Here, have a treat!_ "

Ruby heard a rustling above her and looked up to find a black mass falling towards her. Hastily she activated her Semblance, and the Ursa fell through her petals and hit the ground, lifting a cloud of dirt. Reforming, Ruby thrust Crescent Rose haphazardly, expecting to meet the resistance of flesh or metal.

" _You have not only the grace of a monkey, but the brains of one too!_ "

The Grimm had grabbed the other end of the scythe, and was now lifting it up, and bringing Ruby off the ground with it. "Hey! Touching's off limits!" Ruby swung her legs forward and let go, crashing into the Ursa's chest. Her weight wouldn't have phased the creature in the least, but couple with her speed, it was enough to drive it backwards until it hit a tree.

"Mine!" Ruby yanked Crescent Rose out of the Grimm's grip and swung it in a wide arc, lopping off its head.

" _Don't go clapping yourself in the back yet,_ " Merlot chided. " _Even a monkey has its moments of brilliance!_ "

"You know, you're a human too!" Ruby shouted. "You're just as dumb as I am! Even dumber, actually, because at least I'm not stupid enough that my only friends are Grimm!"

" _Now you-!_ "

A tree came crashing down, and Ruby was forced to turn into petals to avoid being crushed. As she reformed, a huge hand closed around her neck, and she met eyes with a mechanized Beringel, like the ones that had attacked her home.

" _Friends?! You don't understand a thing! The true nature of Grimm is so beyond your comprehension, trying to explain it to you would be like teaching a rock to walk. IMPOSSIBLE!_ "

Ruby tried to slash at the Grimm, but with no room to swing Crescent Rose, she might as well be hitting him with a pillow.

" _But it should be clear now, even to your pathetic brain, how utterly insignificant you are. See, you didn't last an hour in my jungle. You will die alone, doomed to fail from the start. A fitting end, I reckon!_ "

The Beringel's hold tightened. Ruby struggled for a moment, trying to kick at the beast, but it was futile. She gasped of air, and suddenly her struggle ceased. Her grip on Crescent Rose loosened, the weapon slipping through her fingers until it was barely dangling off them. She closed her eyes.

 _"Hmm. Disappointing. But not unexp-_ "

With a mighty heave, Ruby swung Crescent Rose upward, then brought it down on the Beringel's arm, cutting it off. Then as she hit the ground, she hopped forward and drove the blade through the monster's chest, shoving it backwards until it hit a tree. With one last burst of strength, Ruby shoved upwards, rending through a grotesque mess of shadowy flesh and metal.

"Boom." She retrieved Crescent Rose and stepped back. "You just got played by a monkey!"

" _…Well, then. Maybe you aren't as foolish as I thought._ "

"Thanks. I don't really care what you think of me, though," Ruby said. "Are you really going to make me kill all your Grimm on my way over? Come on, man, tell them to back off or something. Make things simpler for me _and_ you!"

" _I don't see why I would do that,_ " Merlot said. " _But if you're so eager to meet me in battle, why don't you do that circus-number of yours and shoot yourself over this way?_ "

Ruby cast a suspicious glance at the dead Grimm's eyes. "I thought about it, but you probably have some trap in place to stop me."

" _Do I? Why not try, at least? Give it the old scientific method – if you even know what that is!_ "

Ruby rolled her eyes and picked up a rock off the floor, then jumped up to the top of a tree. Once she had her directions straight, she turned towards the fortress, which wasn't so far anymore, and tossed the rock as strongly as she could. It flew for a good while, not losing speed – then suddenly exploded into pieces and slid down an invisible surface.

"Hey! Cool force field!" Ruby exclaimed excitedly.

" _Force field – that's a sophisticated piece of technology the likes of Beacon only_ wishes _they had access to!_ " Merlot screamed from below. " _The barrier is so strong, it could withstand a prolonged assault from the Atlas military and not lose a percent of its effectiveness! It could withstand a nuclear blast!_ "

"Alright. So a _really_ cool force field."

Merlot screamed some more, but he was so furious Ruby couldn't understand a word. Besides, she had more interesting things in mind.

If Merlot had a force field protecting his fortress, it was reasonable to think he had another protecting the whole island. And maybe it really wasn't _just_ a force field. It could be making the island invisible, and even hiding the Grimm's energy signatures. That explained how he had avoided Beacon all these years.

A field like that would need a considerable energy resource, and to evenly cover the island, it would have to originate from the center of it. Ruby looked around, making some hasty calculations…

"Bingo." There. She wouldn't have noticed it before, but there was an obvious hole in the top of the trees, and she could spot a great number of Grimm flying near it.

Turns out school was good for something, after all.

Ruby dropped back to the ground and made a show of groaning and kicking a rock away. "Okay, you jerk. I'll walk over to your stupid fortress!"

She stuck her tongue out at the dead Beringel, then turned and marched away from the fortress with all the confidence in the world.

* * *

Even with her going in the wrong direction, the Grimm opposed Ruby just as fiercely as before, if not more. Maybe Merlot hadn't noticed that her 'mistake', or maybe he just didn't care. Regardless, Grimm after Grimm fell upon her, sometimes alone, sometimes in groups, and Ruby disposed of them without fail.

She was surprised at first by how easy it was to kill the mecha-Grimm. Not that it was _easy_ , they were still tougher than the average Grimm, but they weren't like the beasts that had almost killed her twice back in Patch. She quickly realized why: they didn't have the element of surprise this time, and she had her trusty Crescent Rose in hand.

When Merlot stopped taunting her through his creatures, Ruby realized he was coming to the same conclusion as her. Reality was starting to hit him – very unkindly, she hoped – that her proposal hadn't been just as bluff. Ruby was better than anything he had to throw at her.

He only talked again when she was nearly arriving at the force field generator. She could tell she was close because the trees were starting to grow farther apart, and the sky overhead was filling more with Grimm as she went.

" _Now, little slayer, I can see you're feeling pretty full of yourself after you've butchered so many of my pets,_ " he spoke through a Beowolf following at the corner of her vision. " _But I must burst your bubble, so to speak, and with great pleasure too._ "

The Beowolf ran in close, and Ruby turned to point her blade and keep it at bay.

" _You've been going the wrong way all this time!_ " Merlot declared elatedly. " _Why am I not surprised that a supposed_ Huntress _is so inapt at following simple directions?!_ "

"I went the wrong way, really?" Ruby tried to feign some surprise. " _Man_. That's too bad."

She drew back her scythe and started walking again, picking up her pace. The Beowolf followed swiftly, but was not able to catch up to her, even with its augmentations.

" _You devious little bitch!_ "

A rush of air pressed down on Ruby, and she skidded to a halt as a gigantic Nevermore landed in front of her, pushing trees asides and unearthing their roots.

" _I see what you're doing! TURN BACK IMMEDIATELY OR PERISH!_ "

Ruby looked back at the Beowolf and noticed a whole swarm of Grimm now surrounded her. "Well… Let me think…" Slowly, she lowered Crescent Rose. "Nope. Excuse me, passing through!"

Shooting backwards, Ruby took on an immediate burst of speed and flowed around the Nevermore as a cloud of petals, then reformed and kept on running. Her legs were half physical, half petal, and the wind lashed at her face as if she were standing on a speeding train. It was through little skill, and a whole lot of luck, that she didn't crash into any trees.

She broke into the clearing and immediately found what she was looking for. In the middle of the area stood a steel contraption with a funnel-like shape, pointed upwards. On the bottom of it laid a glass container, and inside it was what she figured must be Dust of some sort. A ray of light shot from the top of the funnel, so faint Ruby hadn't been able to see it before, but it was clearly visible now, and it rose high into the sky before dispersing evenly in a circle and becoming invisible again.

All this she took in but a few seconds. With the Grimm not far behind her, Ruby ran towards the device.

" _NOT SO FAST!_ "

A Deathstalker burrowed – or, more fittingly, _exploded_ out of the ground between her and the device, sending dirt and rocks flying everywhere. Ruby paused, astonished. Not only was the creature huge, its entire body was covered in a thick sheet of metal – probably steel. Even the massive stinger on the end of its tail had been modified.

" _One wrong move, and you're dead._ "

"Yeah." Ruby blew a strand of hair away from her eye. "I already figured that out on my own, genius."

She ran forward and pointed Crescent Rose downwards, then pulled the trigger and launched herself in a trajectory over the Deathstalker. Predictably, the Grimm raised its stinger and pincers to snatch her out of the air, and that was when she spun around and shot skyward, sending herself back down.

Ruby smoothed her fall with her Semblance and slid under the Grimm. Once on the other side, she ground to a halt and jumped. Crescent Rose's blade reflected the blazing sunlight as it arced through the air. The Deathstalker's stinger fell on its back, cracking it, and the creature collapsed under its weight.

Not waiting for more company, Ruby hopped over to the device and looked it over, searching for a terminal or panel of some sort. There had to be some way of shutting the force field down…

"Oh, who am I kidding." Ruby raised Crescent Rose and aimed it at the Dust container. "Here goes nothing…"

" _DON'T!_ "

Ruby looked around. Grimm were coming out of the trees in every direction, watching menacingly. Their winged brethren swopped low, so close they could snatch her in an instant.

" _If you do that, everything around you will be turned to dust!_ " Merlot's voice came from every Grimm in the clearing. " _Foolhardy you may be, but even you can't believe you would survive that! Think clearly for once, monkey!_ "

"Yeah, for some reason, I don't feel like listening to you," Ruby said. "I shut this thing down, and your cover's blown, right? No more hiding. Beacon will have you behind bars in less than a day."

" _Ah! See how the charade inevitably crumbles! So much for fairness – you intended this from the beginning,_ hero _!_ "

"No duh! You thought I was serious about that?" Ruby scoffed. "First off, I don't need to prove I'm better than you. That was never in question! Second…" Her eyes narrowed. "You hurt my dad."

" _Pull that trigger…_ " Merlot's voice echoed throughout the clearing. "… _and I will finish the job._ "

Her mind seized with doubt, Ruby stared at the Dust container, and considered obeying Merlot's orders. It would mean less danger for her father, for Yang, for all her friends. All that, and she would be much more likely to survive this day.

It was but a moment's hesitation.

"Give it your best try."

Ruby closed her eyes and pulled the trigger.

* * *

Every light in the command room turned red. Dozens of alarms came to life all over the facility, causing a temporary panic to take the agents before they remembered their training and resumed their tasks.

"Commander!" someone yelled over the alarms. "Multiple Grimm signatures detected off the west coast of Vale! Hundreds!"

"Someone shut off the alarms!" Glynda shouted. "I want every flight team on base off the ground _now_! Establish communications with the other bases – they'll be sending teams too! Coordinate!"

Most of the agents in the command room left in a hurry, leaving only a handful there to shut off the alarm systems, as well as Glynda herself, and Ironwood.

" _General, Sir!_ " Penny came in. " _I'm detecting Grimm signatures nearby, and a sudden flooding of Dust in the atmosphere. I see – I believe it's an island, Sir! It must be Merlot!_ " Her voice was temporarily deafened by an explosive noise. " _High-Velocity Flight Mode engaged!_ "

"Penny! Don't move!" Ironwood yelled. "We must assess the situation first!"

" _But Ruby must be there, and she could be in danger! If we wait too long-_ "

"Penny, we _will_ assist her, but you have to be patient first," Glynda said. "We have to assume Merlot has studied you, as he did Ruby. If you go in unprepared, it could spell disaster!"

"She's right, Penny," Ironwood said. "Now disengage, and-"

" _I'm sorry, Sir, I think – bzzzz- there's something wrong with our connection!_ " Penny shouted. " _Bzzz- interference! -bzzzz – oh noooo-_ "

Penny's voice cut out suddenly, and her video feed turned black. Ironwood stared slack-jawed at the screen, more astonished than he was angry.

"This… this is an outrage," he muttered to himself. "She's not supposed to…"

"Well…" Despite the graveness of the situation, Glynda couldn't help but find some humor in it. "You said she learns by example, yes?"

* * *

Ruby thought she would never come together again. The world around her was warped, with shapes that didn't make sense and objects that multiplied endlessly. She could _see_ rays of sunlight raining down upon the earth, occupying the same space but at different angles – superimposing – inexistent.

She was in a thousand different places at once, and she could feel every little part of her. She fluttered in the air and rested on the ground and sank in piles of ash.

Oddly enough, she wasn't all that scared. The sensation was… hard to describe. It was complete awareness, and unawareness, at the same time. It was peaceful. _Scattered_.

But inevitably, as if moved by a force greater than even that all-encompassing sensation, her petals started to draw back together, swopping high and low and emerging from their hiding places. They flew in a tight formation, circling around each other, until at last Ruby was herself again.

Her knees hit the ground, and Ruby drew in a sharp breath. She felt _warm_ , like she'd been standing inches away from a great fire, and she supposed that wasn't that far from the truth. It took a while for her to gather up the courage to look down at herself and check if she was all in one piece still. She was fine.

She was fine.

Ruby looked around. The clearing had been turned into a shallow crater, with half-burned Grimm corpses strewn across it. Ash everywhere.

"Holy crap." She raised a hand and shook it in front of her face, then slapped herself lightly. Yep. She was real. "I'm freaking immortal."

" _You only wish you were!_ "

A Nevermore landed in front of her, producing a gust of wind with its wings that almost knocked her on her back. Ruby jumped to her feet and scattered around a stomping talon, then reformed away from the beast.

"Still trying to kill me, even after that?!" Ruby yelled. "What kinda scientist are you? Don't you ever learn?!"

" _You are not invincible – and certainly not immortal!_ " Merlot said. " _That was merely a fluke, nothing more!_ "

"You're just angry because you have an army of mecha-Grimm and you _still_ can't kill a sixteen-year-old." Ruby brought Crescent Rose before her and shook it at the Nevermore. "I mean, I'll give you some slack – I'm not just _any_ sixteen-year-old – but you still _suuuck_!"

The Nevermore bent its neck so that it was eye-level with her. " _Come up here, then, little girl. I've disabled my fortress' shield,_ " Merlot said. " _Show me once and for all how superior you are._ "

Ruby almost took the bait. She was feeling positively invincible now, and between his targeting her family and taunting her at every opportunity, Ruby felt a great need to bash Merlot in the head herself – repeatedly, if possible.

But the sinister intention behind his challenge was impossible to miss. Ruby knew Merlot had more up his sleeve, and he had no reason to hold back anymore. And even if he _were_ no threat…

"I told you, I don't need to prove I'm better than you," she said. "Beacon's going to be here any minute now. You can try to run, but there's nowhere for you to hide. You're _screwed_ , dude."

" _But… what kind of_ hero _runs from a fight like that?_ " Merlot laughed cruelly. " _Have you no shame? After everything I did, you'll just turn your back to me?! What a joke!_ "

"Whatever, man." Ruby shrugged. "Think what you want, because you know what? You're not half as important as you think you are. You're a class-A jerk, sure, but at the end of the day, you're just one more bad guy I took down. Not the first, and certainly not the last." She smiled widely. "You'll be lucky if I haven't forgotten your name by next year!"

The Nevermore lunged forward, attempting to catch Ruby in its beak, but she scattered away from it and pointed her scythe warningly.

" _I will destroy everything you hold dear! We'll see who's laughing then!_ "

"You can _try_ ," Ruby said. "If I were you, I'd just sit quiet and enjoy my last free moments. Get out in the sun a bit. Trust me, you won't be seeing much of it where you're going."

The Nevermore made to attack again, and Ruby braced herself, but a loud noise overhead drew her attention away. She looked up and saw a small shape falling out of the sky. Its movement was erratic, and though there was no smoke, it was obvious it had no control of its descent.

Ruby's heart skipped a beat. "Penny?!"

The object disappeared below the treetops, far away from the crater, and the forest rang with the sound of its crashing. Ruby started running, only for the Nevermore to land in her way.

" _That_ is _your friend, I reckon. The tin-girl,_ " Merlot said. " _It seems she suffered a_ mysterious _system failure when she came close to my island. How inconvenient!_ "

Ruby jumped and sliced the Nevermore's head off its neck, but Merlot's voice still came through as it hit the ground.

" _I think I'll take your advice and do something fun with my precious little time. I do so enjoy taking machines apart!_ "

"Don't you dare!" Ruby screamed. "Lay a finger on her and I'll – I'll make you pay!"

Merlot chuckled. " _You can try._ "

Furious and afraid, Ruby raced towards the crash as fast as her feet allowed her, and when her feet weren't enough, she scattered and formed a tornado of petals that tore through the forest, storming past every Grimm in her way.

The trees widened, and Ruby saw Penny on the ground – just as a Griffon wrapped its talons around her shoulders and flew with her towards the fortress. Ruby reformed and shot the ground, boosting herself after the Grimm. She pulled the trigger again and again, not giving a thought about conserving ammo, and slowly she got closer…

She reached forward, an inch away from grabbing Penny's foot – when a Nevermore crashed against her, launching her sideways. Crescent Rose escaped her grip, and a second later the Grimm fell on her again, bashing a talon against her chest. Air rushed past her ears, deafening her, then her back hit the ground.

Ruby got up and dodged the Nevermore's beak as it landed. She jumped forward and scattered around the bird, reformed on top of its head, then bent her knees and jumped again.

Penny was long gone. Crescent Rose had fallen somewhere in the forest – there was no time to search for it. A faint shimmer of light around the fortress told her Merlot had reactivated his shield.

 _Run_ , Ruby's brain screamed. And so she did.

* * *

[SYSTEM FAILURE: fatal]

[SYSTEM REBOOT: start]

[error]

[error]

[error]

[SYSTEM FAILURE: fatal]

[SYSTEM REBOOT: start]

[error]

[error]

[error]

[SYSTEM FAILURE: fatal]

[SYSTEM REBOOT: start]

* * *

The Grimm did not arrive subtly. They came accompanied by a barrage of explosions and Dust beams that would have razed any other building not under Beacon's protection. Even so, the school barely held. Another round, and the shields installed there would inevitably fall.

And then there were the Grimm, emerging from machine-made Breaches that dropped from on high. Each one of them was mechanically modified, some barely, others to the point that their original forms were nearly unrecognizable. All had murder in their eyes, nonetheless.

A single defender walked out the front door to face them. Yang skipped down the steps, shaking her hands for a warm-up. She had never imagined that one day she would be putting her life on the line to defend this place, but she had a promise to keep.

"Before we start, a warning: my sister is one hundred percent a badass…" She closed her fists and raised them high in front of her chin. "…and that runs in the family."

The Grimm didn't understand her, of course. But they recognized the fire in her eyes, and they went in for the kill.

* * *

"Stupid… force field!" Ruby punched the barrier angrily and immediately regretted it, as even with her Aura, the impact sent a sharp pain through the length of her arm. "I can't believe I thought you were cool."

She looked up and down, desperate to find a way to get past the field. It was a futile task, of course, as the thing was virtually invisible, especially from far away. Looking for an entrance in it was as effective as doing physics calculations with her fingers.

Ruby paused. Fingers. Looking. Maybe…?

She stepped back a little, closed her eyes, and threw herself at the barrier. On impact she scattered into countless petals, and instead of drawing back together, she willed herself to spread further apart. Each petal kept pressing against the barrier, sliding across its length, searching... until finally, one passed through.

Immediately, every other petal flew towards that one, and before she knew it, Ruby was physical again. A little disoriented, Ruby looked back at the barrier and knocked on it, just to make sure she was indeed on the other side.

"Today's a weird freaking day."

Ruby shook her head. There was no time to waste!

With no Crescent Rose to assist in her ascension, Ruby ran through the last portion of the forest until she clearly saw the spire Merlot's fortress stood on, and jumped. She grabbed onto a rock on the cliffside, then pulled herself up with all her strength and let go, scattering on release. She made it halfway up the spire's length before she lost her momentum and had to repeat the process.

Once she was at the top, Ruby looked at Merlot's lair and noticed it wasn't as much of a fortress as it had appeared before. It wasn't all that big, and up close, it wasn't at all scary. Fit for its owner, she thought.

The entrance was a pair of metal doors which Ruby easily burst through. Inside, she found herself in a poorly-lit hallway that seemed to stretch on forever. On the walls to each side were massive glass tubes that emerged from the floor and went all the way up to the ceiling. Floating in a reddish liquid inside them were Grimm twisted into all manners of shape and size. Many of them sported the modifications Merlot prided himself on.

A worst reception hall, Ruby had never seen. But she supposed he didn't have guests very often. And now that he was getting one finally… Well, she didn't care much for the appearance of his house.

Ruby proceeded with caution, wishing she hadn't had to leave Crescent Rose behind. It sure would have come in handy now. Unarmed, she kept her guard up constantly, prepared to activate her Semblance in the blink of an eye.

She reached the end of the hallway without incident, and as her eyes searched for a door of any kind, the wall parted to reveal an elevator. Ruby hummed warily and looked around, but there was nowhere else for her to go. She went inside, and the elevator closed behind her. There was a panel on the wall, but she had no opportunity to press a button, as the highest one lit up immediately, and the panel flipped over.

The elevator went up fast. Ruby held her breath, scared to death of what would happen next. The only thing had kept her from outright panic was the thought that Penny needed her.

The elevator stopped and opened into darkness. Ruby waited a moment before stepping out. A metallic clang rang all around her as she stepped forth, and Ruby felt a light breeze hit her. Then a row of lights came on the floor ahead of her, revealing that she was standing on a bridge, and underneath it was a deep chasm. Ruby stood paralyzed, fearing that one wrong step would send her plummeting down into the darkness.

"Welcome! Somehow, I am not surprised you found your way here!"

Ruby looked up. At the end of the bridge was a round platform, and standing on it was Merlot himself. He had the white hair and the complexion of a man aged far past his prime. His left eye shone an artificial red, and the skin around it was replaced with metal. His right arm too was robotic, with huge, sharp fingers than resembled more of a claw than a proper hand.

Ruby wasn't surprised by his appearance. If anything, she was shocked he wasn't as heavily modified as his _pets_.

"My time of underestimating you is over," Merlot said. He sounded just as mad in person, though Ruby detected a bit of weakness in his voice. "Now, that doesn't mean you're any less abhorrent… But I respect you – in the way a lion respects a flea."

"Are you saying you're a lion because you looked yourself in the mirror lately?" Ruby asked. "Seriously. And Yang says _I_ have messy hair."

Merlot's face flushed with anger. Ruby took a step forward and prepared to jump at him, but he raised his metal hand, and something emerged behind him. A strangled yell escaped Ruby's lips.

A metallic ring floated above the chasm, emitting a faint humming noise. Suspended in the middle of it was Penny, wrists and ankles held by an invisible force. Her head lolled sideways, and her eyes… empty.

"What… what did you do to her?!" Ruby screamed. "Let her go _now_!"

Merlot opened his hand halfway. "One tiny step, slayer, and I will drop your friend. Her body might be metal, but I assure you, there will be no recovery for her once she's hit the floor."

Ruby gripped her skirt, her arms and legs trembling madly. She couldn't take her eyes off Penny. She knew she wasn't dead – she probably couldn't feel any pain either – but even so, the sight of her was _agonizing._

"It is terrible, you know. Whoever built this machine wasn't all that diligent when it came to its system security. I'm sure they thought she was unbreachable – _hah_!" Merlot scoffed. "Disabling her was dreadfully simple. I did some scrambling with her functions, and now her system can't make heads or tails of anything. She's in a perpetual loop of failed reboots!" He smiled sinisterly. "She's lucky she's not equipped to understand her situation. Anyone would go mad…"

"S-stop it!" Ruby yelled. "Just let her go, okay? I'll surrender. Y-you can do whatever you want to me."

"Oh! I do delight in your surrender, brat, but it's irrelevant at this point! I have you dead to rights," Merlot said. "Why would I let go of my leverage? Not that I need any, of course…"

He flicked his hand, and a white light erupted from under Ruby's feet, enveloping her. Suddenly, she couldn't move a muscle.

"Ah, there. No more of your incessant monkeying around. And no more whining." Merlot walked over to her, leaning in to peer at her eyes. "Are you at all curious about this brilliant technology I've designed _specifically_ for you?"

Ruby couldn't answer nor show her displeasure, and Merlot seemed to take great delight in that.

"You see, when you brutalized my first executioner by using your barbaric Semblance, I endeavored to analyze how that power worked – a sensible effort which you doubtlessly neglected!" Merlot said. "I arrived at the conclusion that those silly little petals you turn into are a measure your body takes to keep itself intact. A weak being such as yourself would never survive speed so fantastic! But if I were to stop that process… If I were to force your atoms to remain connected…"

He snapped his fingers and laughed grandiosely.

"You may be thinking to yourself now - you should still be able to move normally, no? Wrong!" Merlot shouted. "The very nature of your body has been irreversibly changed by the phenomenon! How ironic, that the power that raised you to such heights would be your ultimate downfall!"

Despair filled Ruby. After everything she had been through, this was how she was defeated. And by Merlot, of all people.

Despair gave way to anger. Merlot! He didn't deserve to win. She didn't deserve to lose. She had done everything right, she had faltered and moved forward anyway…

And anger lead to clarity. This was the end she had been warned about.

 _No_.

"If only I had the time to study you with my own hands… I could harness that power, I'm sure," Merlot said. "But I'll have to content with making you scream instead. And when the time is nigh, I'll tear your puny heart out and send it to your-"

Ruby scattered.

She reformed with her fist clashing against Merlot's neck.

He fell to the floor, wheezing, and they met eyes, equally startled.

Merlot recovered one second earlier and snapped his fingers. The ring around Penny stopped humming. Whatever force had been holding her vanished, and she fell.

"No!" Ruby jumped from the bridge and fell towards Penny, hoping beyond hope to catch up to her, but Penny was obviously much heavier than she was. With a yell, Ruby jerked herself sideways, changing her trajectory towards a wall – and when she was close enough, kicked against the cold surface and rocketed towards Penny.

She managed to wrap her arms around Penny, but the next step remained a mystery to her. She could send them both to crash against a wall, but that would be as good as reaching the floor. Unlike Ruby, Penny had no Aura to protect her.

There was her Semblance. She had turned that Grimm along with her at the school, but Penny… She wasn't a living thing. What was to say she wouldn't be unaffected and continue falling?

Even mid-falling, the thought struck Ruby as horribly wrong. Ruby knew what was more alive – what was more _human_ – between Penny and a Grimm. She didn't have to hope. She didn't have to guess. This would work.

Ruby pulled Penny in close and scattered.

* * *

[SYSTEM FAILURE: fatal]

[SYSTEM REBOOT: started]

[r]

[u]

[b]

[y]

[?]

[SYSTEM REBOOT: successful]

[STATUS: -unreadable]

* * *

Ruby reformed at the bottom of the chasm and let go of Penny. The robot stumbled backwards for a moment, then fell to her knees with a clang and looked down at her fingers, slowly wiggling them one by one.

"I. Don't. Understand?"

Ruby's face turned pale. Had she broken Penny?

"All systems are back to normal. Functional. Regular. But that… feeling?" Penny – the whole of her – twitched. "Can't understand. Dangerous. Delete memory data. Can't delete? No data? Delete memory! _Delete_. _Delete_. _Delete_ -"

"Penny!" Ruby kneeled in front of Penny and shook her by the shoulder, prompting her to look at her face. "You're okay! I saved you! Stop – stop being w-weird!"

Penny blinked. "Oh, I'm sorry, friend! I didn't mean to startle you!" she exclaimed, her voice regaining its usual cheerful quality – as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. "Thank you so much for saving me! Although… there seems to be a lapse in my memory banks. How did we end up here?"

"Merlot did something to you. He messed with your brain, made you reboot a bunch." Ruby gulped. "Didn't sound fun."

"Indeed. That sounds awful." Penny nodded. "You saved me from that, then?"

"Not exactly. Merlot dropped you from up there." Ruby pointed, but the platform was so high up that it was nothing more than a vague shape. "I caught you and turned you into petals with my Semblance."

Penny's irises spun for an instant, and she nodded again. "Thank you again." She stood up. "I believe Merlot is attempting an escape."

"We're on an island, he can't go anywhere," Ruby said. "Beacon will catch him when they arrive."

Penny looked down at her and offered a hand. "That sounds boring. Let's go catch him ourselves, friend!"

Ruby knew that wasn't the responsible thing to do. And after a day of making mostly-responsible decisions, it would be quite lame to end it with such recklessness. What would Miss Goodwitch say? What would _her father_ say?

She took Penny's hand. "You're a terrible influence."

Penny pulled up her up to her feet. "Hold on tight," she warned, and shot upwards, propelled by the Dust propulsors on the bottom of her feet. Ruby yelped and pressed herself against Penny's back, too startled to care how embarrassing that was.

In a matter of seconds, they arrived at the platform overhead, yet Penny didn't land. "He's running," she said, looking blankly ahead. "There's a lot of Grimm. They're converging on his location."

"How fast can you get us there?" Ruby asked.

Penny replied by resuming her ascent. She raised a hand and shot a Dust beam at the ceiling, tearing a hole in the metal. She flew through it, and for a moment they hovered high above the island, sunlight showering down onto them and a cool breeze brushing against their skin.

"I have the doctor's location," Penny said. "Brace yourself." She exploded into a sharp dive towards the beach, then doubled back and flew into the forest. They were so dangerously close to the ground Ruby would have jumped off, if it weren't for the sheer confidence Penny was showing.

Grimm started to show in their path, but Penny either avoided them or struck them with precise beams. Then, Merlot appeared, running straight their way. He came to a grinding halt when he saw Penny and gestured wildly with his metal arm, and dozens of Grimm came from the sky and the trees, making a living blockade.

"Away!" Merlot shouted, his voice shaking. "Begone with you wretched savages! Leave, or be reduced to nothing!"

Penny landed, and Ruby let go of her. "Just give up, Merlot!" Ruby yelled. "It's over!"

"Never!" Merlot waved an arm at them, his mouth turned into a wild snarl. "Destroy them, eradicate them! _Rise, my brood_!"

As one, the Grimm started advancing towards Ruby and Penny. The earth shook with their steps and the sky rang with their cries. An aura of black and red emanated throughout the forest.

Ruby clenched her fists, prepared to fight however necessary, but Penny held her back with an arm and stepped forward. Ruby looked at her, startled. "But Penny, you just – after all that, are you sure you can-"

"Don't worry, Ruby," Penny said. "I'm combat ready!"

She thrust her arms forward, and an electric bolt arced between her hands, bouncing off her palms repeatedly and picking up speed. Suddenly, the bolt stopped dead in the middle, and instantaneously grew into a sphere of crackling green energy. A powerful wind surged from it, causing her dress to flutter, and Ruby's hair to lash at her face.

The sphere then split into three separate beams thick as oak trees, each fired in a different direction, their power so intense that anything they touched was disintegrated instantly. They ran through the forest, and when they finally faded, all that was left was the ashes of the Grimm, and Merlot, shivering on his knees at the center of the destruction.

Penny lowered her arms and beamed at Ruby. "Did I make a good showing, friend?"

"Uh… Yeah…" Ruby said, a little breathless. "You did cool. I mean, good. You were – uh…"

A loud sob interrupted her, and Ruby was surprised to find it had come from Merlot. He had crawled away from his previous spot, and was now running his fingers through a pile of ash which had once been a Grimm.

"My creations… My angels… I don't understand," he croaked. "You were supposed to be _perfect_!" His voice broke, and he made a noise that almost had Ruby pitying him. Almost.

"Hey, man. You hurt people. I don't know what you expected," she said. "Why do you care so much about Grimm anyway? They're just monsters."

"No! You don't understand! You don't see them as I do!" Merlot barked. "No one does. All you do is destroy, and yet I am the villain…" He looked up at her and smiled viciously. "No matter! You will have your comeuppance! You may have defeated me, but your victory is meaningless!"

He raised his metal hand and projected a holographic screen from it. Though it was quite crowded with Grimm, Ruby quickly recognized the street in front of her school.

"Some of my brood still remains, and as we speak, they make short work of-" Merlot cut himself short as Yang appeared on the screen, punching a fiery hole through an Ursa. "But… but…"

"Yeah, I saw that coming from a mile away." Ruby snorted. "You actually are pretty smart, you know? If you didn't feel like you had to prove that all the time, you probably would have killed me right away." She frowned. "I don't think you actually care about Grimm. I _think_ you care that you made them stronger, but they still were no match for me."

Merlot glared at her, his mechanical eye flickering with murderous intent. "I had you, slayer. I defeated you fair and square," he growled. "My science was sound. What you did was _impossible_!"

Ruby had to agree. She couldn't begin to understand how she had overwhelmed Merlot's trap.

"I think, Doctor…" Penny spoke. "There are some things even science cannot explain."

For a moment, Merlot's face became completely void of emotion, before his anger returned twofold and he charged at Ruby, thrusting his hand towards her face. Penny appeared between them, however, and with a decisive blow with the back of her hand, knocked him out cold.

"…That was very rude of him," Penny said. "Would it be bad if I called him a jerk?"

"No, you'd be dead on." Ruby poked Merlot with the tip of her boot. "What was his name again?"

* * *

 **Daaaaamn. And here we were thinking Yang was the one with the fire.  
**

 **Writing Merlot was super fun. I didn't really hold back on the cheese with him, which some of you may have disliked, but... Unless I change my mind in the future, he really was a one-off villain. I think it was fine to go nuts this one time, then.**

 **Also, I hope the mid-chapter adoption of the 'scatter' thing wasn't too jarring. That decision was both for narrative purposes (LOOK AT THAT TITLE WOOOOW), and writing purposes. "Ruby turned into petals and..." gets to be tiring after the third time or so you use it in a chapter.**

 **Next time, we wrap everything up nicely... and who knows who will have the spotlight after that? (I will NOT make a Cardin joke this time)**

 **-Zeroan**


	9. Heart of the Huntress

"Come on, Ruby, put your back into it! Lift! Are you a superhero or an ant?!"

"I-I can't! Yang! It's too heavy!"

"How can you still have such thin arms when you swing that oversized pickaxe of yours all day?!"

"It's a scythe! And look who's talking!"

"What is that supposed to mean?!"

"Just _pull_!"

Ruby gave one last heave, throwing all her weight into the underside of the sofa, and finally it slid over the last steps of the stairs and landed with a bang on the floor. Yang nearly collapsed at the other side, her hair plastered messily on her forehead. She almost plopped down instinctively on the sofa, cutting herself just short of ruining the brand-new furniture.

"The greatest warriors in the world, everyone," Yang panted. "Evil flees at the sight of us!"  
"Stairs suck. I wanna have a talk with the guy that invented them," Ruby said. "Please tell me this is our floor. I think I might just die if we have to carry this thing just an inch more."

"We're here." Yang nodded tiredly, then put her hands around her mouth and screamed at the top of her lungs, " _DAD!_ "

Ruby flinched, remembering that she never should underestimate Yang's lack of discretion in any situation whatsoever. Her dismay only grew when she heard a banging of metal on wood nearby, then the door to the nearest apartment opened, revealing their father on crutches, somehow looking very angry _and_ relieved at the same time.

"My God, Yang! Was that necessary?" He lifted a crutch and shook it at the ceiling. "Other people live here, you know!"

"Oh, crap. I forgot about that," Yang said, though she didn't look nearly as apologetic as she sounded. "Good thing I don't…"

Taiyang shook his head in disapproval, then looked at Ruby and the sofa, confusion spreading across his face. "Did you two carry this up all the way here?" he asked. "What about the delivery guys?"

"Well, I was gonna let them, but Yang wanted to impress them, which I really don't get," Ruby said. "I mean, look at her now. _Yuck_!"

"Ruby, the best men are those who know to appreciate a strong, hard-working woman," Yang said knowingly. "You'll understand someday… once you get over your little robot phase."

Ruby glared at her, but Yang just smiled back like the loving big sister she was.

"I'm happy to see you two working together so well," Taiyang said dryly. "So, you gonna carry it the rest of the way inside? I would help, but…" He banged his crutches together and feigned an overly dramatic cry. "Oh, the tragedy!"

Ruby looked down at the sofa. Just the prospect of moving it was nearly reducing her to a messy lump of limbs on the floor.

"I got it from here," Yang said, moving over to Ruby's side and lightly shoving her away. "Get some rest, Rubes. And you, old man… don't think I don't see through your act."

"Are you making accusations against a recovering cripple?" Taiyang replied, aghast. "And to think you were once a sweet little girl…"

"Call me sweet again and you can drop the _recovering_ part." Yang rolled her eyes, then started pushing the sofa into the apartment.

Ruby waited until there was room in the doorway again and slipped inside the apartment, then moved straight to the kitchen to grab herself a drink of water. She didn't move fast just because she was thirsty, though. There was something about the living room – the whole apartment, really – that made her feel unreasonably anxious. Maybe it was the relative smallness of it compared to their old house. Maybe it was just the unfamiliarity. She didn't like to dwell on it much.

"The place is coming along nicely, all things considered," her father said, leaning on the kitchen doorway. "Not the home of my dreams, but what are you gonna do?"

Ruby nodded and grabbed a glass from the new cupboard. "Yup. It's nice." She opened the refrigerator – also new – and grabbed a jar of water. "I like it."

"We'd all better like it, with the hell it's been to deal with the insurance people!" Taiyang chuckled. "Good thing we have Beacon backing us up. I don't think those guys cover mecha-Grimm-terrorist attacks."

"Yeah. It's nice, having that old superhero influence…" Ruby said, then cleared her throat. "Not that I'd ever take advantage of people or anything!"

"I'm not complaining."

Yang called from the living room, asking where to leave the sofa, and Taiyang went to talk to her. Left alone, Ruby leaned back against the kitchen sink and drank from her glass, basking in the silence.

Everything was going well. It had been a quiet month since Merlot – no surprise attacks, no emergency calls from the rest of the Hunt… no supervillains… Just peace.

It was strange, then, and deeply frustrating too, that Ruby still couldn't quite shake off that anxiousness that had been weighing down on her shoulders for so long. If she dropped her guard for one second too long, that was when everything would go wrong again. She knew it was a silly fear to have, but…

Ruby lowered her glass, noticing just how silent the apartment was. For a moment she stood on the tip of her toes, ready for the crash or explosion that would come any second now… Until the trail end of a whisper reached her ears, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

It was just Yang and Dad in the living room. Ruby wondered what they must be talking about so secretively, but refrained from inching towards the doorway to listen. If Yang wanted her to know, she would share later.

Ruby finished her glass of water and put it down on the kitchen, then looked at the clock on the wall. She had done a lot of helping today already, but she had her own stuff to see to, and it was past time she got to it.

* * *

Staying up well past midnight had stopped being a novelty early on for Ruby. But these days, she didn't neglect sleep to play videogames or read a book or anything so exciting. Half so exciting. _A tenth_ so exciting.

She was staying up to study. The thought would have taken a younger Ruby straight to the bathroom for a lengthy barfing session. And, to be honest, she wasn't reacting all that differently today. She was just better at keeping the revulsion at bay.

It helped that she had a good reason to be studying. Between the whole mess with Merlot, helping her dad along his recovery, and the scrambling to find a new home, Ruby hadn't been able to go to class for weeks. Unfortunately, school didn't stop because of her, and the school year had ended without her.

She had missed so many days that, ordinarily, she would have had to repeat the year, but the headmaster had been gracious enough to allow her a chance to take her final tests at a later date. Even so, she was having to learn and revise a lot of material all by herself, and with how low her grades had been over-all throughout the year… Passing would be no easy task.

The idea that she didn't _have to_ pass did occur to her, more times than she was comfortable admitting. When the numbers on the textbooks stopped making sense and the seemingly-hundreds of dead people's names she had to decorate started to blur together, Ruby had half the mind to throw everything in a trash bin and set it on fire.

But she persevered, even if grudgingly.

* * *

Ruby sat up in her chair, a sudden knock on her door bringing her eyes wide open and nearly causing her to toss her pencil away, so startled she was. Blinking lethargically, she looked over to the clock on her nightstand and realized it was almost four in the morning. She really had overdone it today… or yesterday? She had been awake too long to figure out that conundrum.

"Come in," she said, and the door opened slightly to reveal Yang. She looked a little frazzled, just like her, though Ruby had a feeling that wasn't just because of the hour.

"You're still up?" Yang asked quietly. "I thought I heard something but wasn't sure."

"Are you surprised?" Ruby rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Or, uh… disappointed?"

"The first, and only because I didn't know you had turned into _this_ big of a nerd," Yang said. "Unless you're hiding your phone or something under all that?"

Ruby lifted her stack of textbooks and notes to show that, no, she wasn't faking. Yang shook her head.

"I don't know whether to be proud or sad," she said. "Do you want me to get you something to drink? Maybe some hot chocolate? That always helps you sleep."

She gestured emphatically at the bed, and Ruby understood that was more of a plea for common sense than a suggestion.

"No, thanks. I don't think I'm gonna need help with that," Ruby said. "What are _you_ doing up so late? Or did you get up just now?"

Yang was silent for a moment, a conflicted expression on her face. Then, with no explanation, she turned and walked away, her steps echoing softly in the hallway until Ruby couldn't hear. Ruby gestured confusedly at the door and started to turn back towards her desk, only for Yang to return, this time coming into the room and closing the door behind her.

"I was putting the finishing touches on this," Yang said. "Here. Have a look."

She raised her hands in offer, and Ruby immediately recognized her uniform. It was like the newest one, which her dad had made and had been ruined because of Merlot's attack, but with more vivid colors – like her first one.

"I may not have gotten it just right. We talked about the design and you sent me some photos of the real thing, but…" Yang shrugged.

"Yang! It's perfect!" Ruby exclaimed. She shrunk a little, remembering the time, and added in a softer voice, "It's even better than the original."

Yang smiled. "I'm glad you like it."

Ruby put the uniform down on her bed and hugged Yang tight. Curiously, it took some time for Yang to react to that, and when she did it was with more intensity than usual, running a hand through Ruby's hair and planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Is something wrong?" Ruby asked.

Yang pulled back, casting a guilty look at her. "Am I that obvious?"

"I mean, you stayed up 'til four and it wasn't because of a party. Your face is all funny…" Ruby looked down at her feet. "And… I may have noticed you and Dad whispering at each other a couple times lately. I didn't eavesdrop, but…"

Yang sighed. She walked past Ruby to sit at the edge of her bed and patted the space beside her. Ruby sat down, her curiosity transforming into concern.

"We've been talking about me leaving to Vale and getting back to work. The Grimm are still causing mayhem out in the world, and I don't fully believe Pyrrha when she says she and Jaune are holding down the fort well without help," Yang said. "I wasn't even thinking about that before, he was the one who brought it up." She pursed her lips. "It sucks."

"What do you mean?" Ruby frowned. "I think you're right, the others could use some help. I'd go myself if I weren't for Dad and school!"

"That's just the thing. I'm needed here too, maybe more than there," Yang said. "Dad isn't okay yet. What if something happens to him? What if there are… complications?" She shuddered at the word. "I'm scared to death of what might happen if I leave."  
"But I'm here too," Ruby said. "I'm watching him, always. I can take care of him by myself. You don't need to-"

"I don't _want_ you to do that," Yang interrupted harshly. "You shouldn't have to. You have stuff to do – you've got so much, _and_ you've gone through enough already!"

"We went through the same stuff," Ruby said. She took a deep breath. "Yang. I thought we had settled this already. I don't need you anymore."

Yang looked at her, surprise and hurt written on her face. Ruby winced, wishing she knew a better way to express herself, but it was more important to get the message across than to be gentle.

"You told me that, remember?" Ruby said. "I don't need you to protect me from everything anymore. I may still be a big goof, but I'm not a baby."

Yang clenched her fists. "This isn't fair. You can't use my own words against me like that," she grumbled. "What happened to respecting your elders?"

"You never listened to Dad when he tried using that argument." Ruby smiled mischievously. "What was I supposed to learn from that?"

Leaning forward, Yang rubbed the space between her eyes and fell silent. A painful pang hit Ruby's heart, and she opened her mouth to say that it was okay, that Yang didn't need to go. That she still needed her. It wouldn't be a complete lie, so what was the harm in it?

But Ruby kept silent and simply patted Yang's back. The act brought a flood of memories to the surface - small moments of silence scattered throughout ten long years. Except then, the roles had been reversed, always.

Ruby smiled, feeling a strange warmth inside her… and a little sadness, too.

"If you _promise_ you'll be okay," Yang said, straightening up and setting a severe stare upon Ruby. "But I'll check every. Single. Day. I mean it. I'll be such an insufferable momma bear you'll wish I hadn't left after all."

Ruby shrugged. "No news there, Mom."

Yang stared sharply at the ceiling for a moment, her chin trembling, then pulled Ruby into a bone-crushing hug.

* * *

Three days later, Ruby had her first of many tests. Two weeks' worth of studying hard did little to abate the fear she felt when she arrived at the front of Signal. What if that hadn't been enough? Couldn't she be afforded a little more time to prepare? Surely that wasn't too much to ask – she had saved the school and Patch and _the world_ , after all…

But the test was only one reason why she felt so nervous. With the academic year over, the hallways of the school were hauntingly empty, except for a few staff and kids – students in similar situations to her or trying to recover failed grades.

It was impossible to ignore the looks they all gave her. Pity. Concern. Fear. Ruby remembered how she had been treated like a popstar in these halls not so long ago. She hadn't enjoyed that, but… now, she felt small. Unwelcomed, almost.

She couldn't blame anyone for not wanting her around with all the chaos that accompanied her presence. It was terribly unfair, but that was life, she supposed. All she could do was accept that, and make the most of what was under her control.

* * *

"So, yeah, I think I did pretty well, all things considered. There were some tricky questions, but… I did study very hard, so all should be good!"

Ruby looked around the dinner table, silently fishing for approval. With the silence that everyone gave her, she was forced to put some spaghetti in her mouth and awkwardly slurp it up.

"History never was my strong suit, yeah… But it wasn't so bad."

She looked at her dad, and he perked up with interest. "Oh, I'm sure you aced that one, sweetheart. You know _my_ exams are famously difficult. Whoever made yours… Well, I'm sure they tried very hard!"

"That's… not really what I wanted to hear, but okay," Ruby mumbled.

"Look at you, little nerd wanting to show off her book smarts," Yang said, reaching over her plate to scratch Ruby's chin. "So adorable! Who's the smartest in the family? You are!"

"Cut it out, Yang! Why do you always have to make fun of me like that?!"

Yang grinned deviously at her, then went back to eating. She forked an unnecessarily large amount of her spaghetti, such that half of it fell and spilled on her lap when she brought it over to her mouth. Ruby delighted in the irony.

With the table falling silent again, Ruby couldn't help but turn her eyes to their guest. Defying every law of science, Miss Goodwitch managed to still look dignified while eating pasta. Ruby was equally impressed and intimidated.

"What do you think, Miss Goodwitch?" Ruby asked. "Do you think I passed, or…?"

Goodwitch finished her current string of spaghetti, cleaned her mouth with a napkin, then looked judiciously at her. "There's no doubt you dedicated yourself appropriately to the task. I'd be _very_ surprised if you achieved any less than spectacular marks on every exam."

Ruby tried to contain her cheer, though by the way Yang snorted, she mustn't have been very successful. Goodwitch raised an eyebrow, but appeared indifferent otherwise.

"It's too bad you had to take the tests so late," Yang said. "You missed the dance! How sucky is that?"

"Not at all?" Ruby answered obviously. "You know I wasn't going anyway. I don't like dances, _and_ I didn't even have a date."

"I would have been your date if you'd asked," Yang said. "Or, you know… You could have asked Penny…"

"Why would I do that?! A-also, I don't even know where Penny is!" Ruby exclaimed, turning red. "Yang, you're… you're dumb!"

"Woah, sis. Chill." Yang coughed into her hand, though Ruby could clearly see she was just trying to hide her smile. "I'm just sad you missed out on the fun. I know you don't like that kind of stuff, but it's a celebration of freedom and adulthood and all that. Plus, in _my_ dance, they totally had some _inappropriate_ drinks for the age range."

"They did what?" Taiyang asked.

"Try and arrest me, I'm an adult!" Yang shouted, then balked when she remembered Goodwitch was with them. "I mean… Don't?"

Miss Goodwitch took a long sip of her water, all the while glaring at Yang like a hawk. Laughing awkwardly, Yang got up and mumbled something about a bathroom and sleep, then fled the room.

"I also partook in some less than appropriate activities in my senior year." Miss Goodwitch put her glass down. "Nothing dangerous, but it was memorable."

Ruby gawked. It was hard enough to picture a young Glynda Goodwitch without accounting for _fun_ and _normal human being things_.

"You should do something to celebrate the occasion, Ruby," Miss Goodwitch said. "Within reason, of course."

"Uh… yeah. I'll try and think of something," Ruby said. "You know, Miss Goodwitch, you're a lot cooler than you let on." She paused. "Did you know my Dad is single?"

Choking on his drink, Taiyang tried to get up and flee as Yang had done, only to remember his crutches had been left leaning on a corner of the room on his request. His only remaining option was to stare down at his plate and pretend nothing else existed.

"Thank you, Ruby. I am flattered," Goodwitch said, Ruby's later remark not affecting her in the least. "It's unfortunate, but I won't be able to enjoy this wonderful dinner any longer. I have responsibilities to see to in the local base, and even more tomorrow. Work never stops."

She got up, and Ruby accompanied her to the front door.

"Please remind your sister that Beacon is not a taxi service," Goodwitch said. "If she's late one minute tomorrow morning, she'll have to arrange her own transport to Vale."

"Yes, ma'am," Ruby said dutifully, opening the door. "I'll make sure she's early as a… uh… bird. A bird that wakes up early. Not an owl! Early as a… hawk!" She sighed. "Yep, that's the saying…"

Goodwitch's lips curved with the hint of a smile. "Thank you, Ruby. And please, do let me know when you decide to join your teammates," she said. "Your absence is felt at the Tower."

Ruby nodded, her words failing her all of a sudden. Miss Goodwitch stared at her a moment longer with a slight frown on her forehead, as if considering something, before she gave Ruby a final tap in the arm and left the apartment.

Upon closing the door, Ruby found the apartment to be much emptier than before, and not only because Miss Goodwitch had left. There was just _something_ about it, a feeling Ruby couldn't quite describe…

"Now that you're done embarrassing your father," Taiyang called. "Could you be a dear and get him his crutches? He'll take it as an apology."  
Ruby banished that feeling with a shaking of her head and skipped back to the dining room, grabbing her father's crutches on the way and handing them over to him.

"Sorry." She hopped back a couple steps to give him space to get up. "But you can't tell me you haven't thought about it…"

Taiyang made a curious noise, focusing his attention on his crutches. He wobbled in place for a moment, arms shaking with the effort, and Ruby scuttled closer to hold him until he was steady.

"Are you serious?" he asked, looking at her solemnly. "Would that make you happy?"

Ruby gave the question some pondering, if for no other reason than that she felt she ought to. Maybe she should be furious or distraught at the thought of her father meeting new women, but truthfully, she had little difficulty accepting it. A small part of her wished she felt otherwise, but she shut that down immediately.

"As long as you're happy, I'm happy too," she said. "I mean, maybe Miss Goodwitch is a little too much. She's my ex-boss, and she can be very scary."

"What, you don't think your old man can handle the challenge?" Taiyang chuckled at her disgusted expression. "Too ambitious, I agree. I should start smaller. Maybe once I can trust my feet again… or before, even. Then you won't have to be chained to me all the time."

"Uh, yeah, you do what you're comfortable with," Ruby said hastily. "Should I grab the plates?"

She didn't wait for an answer, quickly pacing around the table to move everything on it over to the kitchen.

* * *

The next morning, Yang almost missed Goodwitch's deadline as she came up with a hundred little things she had to, from instilling vital responsibilities on Ruby to running last-minute tests on her bike, Bumblebee. Ruby kept up a staunch resistance, however, knowing exactly what her sister was up to, and eventually she managed to boot Yang off the apartment for good.

A few hours later, good news arrived in the form of an e-mail from Signal: Ruby had passed all her tests. Not only that, she had done so with flying colors. It didn't entirely fix her rather mediocre yearly performance, but she couldn't complain about something that was her fault only.

With Yang gone, and her studies finally over, all that Ruby had left to focus on was taking care of her father, and she committed to that with all the eagerness and seriousness she had promised Yang. His recovery was going well enough that he could do most basic tasks without her assistance, so Ruby mainly dealt with things outside the apartment, such as running groceries and buying furniture for the new place.

That busyness and sense of responsibility helped stave off the melancholy for a while, but that couldn't last forever. Every day started to feel the same, and Ruby was no longer able to ignore the hollow feeling settling inside her. There was no Yang, no school – no Penny – there was only her father, and while she loved him very much… he wasn't enough.

Crescent Rose stayed locked and hidden at the bottom of her closet. Her new uniform hung beside her regular clothes. She had turned off her Scroll's Grimm-tracking functions weeks ago.

The itch, however, couldn't be hidden away.

* * *

The doorbell rang on a late Sunday afternoon as Ruby lounged in her bed, watching a video on her phone. She immediately took off her earphones and jumped out of her bed, making fast for the living room, only to realize her Dad had already hopped his way to the door on one leg.

"Hah! Beat you to it," he said. "Your superspeed is no match for my dadly reflexes."

"Dad, is this really necessary?" Ruby pointed at his crutches, left behind near the sofa. "You could have fallen and smushed your face on the floor. Then you would be single forever."

"Hey! That's uncalled for." He shook his head in disapproval. "Whatever. Let's see who it is. I hope it's that octopus clock I ordered."

"A clock – Dad, don't tell me you're starting that all over again!" Ruby exclaimed. "And wasn't it starfishes?"

"I'm rebuilding _and_ innovating. You wouldn't understand," he replied somberly. "Nobody understands…"

He stood silent for a moment, a dark expression on his face, before suddenly brightening up and opening the door unceremoniously. Ruby nearly jumped in surprise, as standing there wasn't a delivery person or a neighbor, but Penny.

"Salutations!" Penny made a salute, a radiant smile on her lips. "How fantastic it is to see you again, Mister Xiao Long!"

"Penny! It's been so long. You've – uh – not grown!" Taiyang said. "Sorry, you've caught me unprepared."

"No need for apologies – I was the one who made an unscheduled appearance. I didn't want to ruin the surprise." Penny crossed her wrists behind her back and spun in her heels to face Ruby, bowing her head a little. "Hello, friend. Surprise!"

Recovering from her shock, Ruby raised a hand and waved, feeling awkward under the combined attention of her father and Penny. "H-hi! I wasn't expecting you, Penny!" She shook her hands apologetically. "But it's great to see you again!"

Taiyang stepped back and gestured for Penny to come inside. Penny smiled gratefully at him, but remained just short of entering.

"Is this like a… official visit or something, Penny?" Ruby asked, feeling a bit alarmed. "Is there trouble?"

"No, not at all!" Penny said. "Well, there will be trouble for me in the near future, but you need not concern yourself with that. This visit is purely for your benefit!" She perked up. "I would very much like if you came with me to the town, Ruby. We can hang out wherever you wish!"

Ruby blinked. Penny showing up at her doorstep just to hang out was not something she had been expecting to happen today – or any day whatsoever.

"I think Ruby would like that," Taiyang said. "Wouldn't you, Ruby?"

"What? Uh, I guess." Ruby frowned. "But I can't leave you here, Dad – and didn't you have some errands for-"

"It's settled, then!" he interrupted. "It's a date!"

He pushed Ruby out of the apartment and locked the door behind her. Ruby could still hear him giggling giddily inside. She had no time to feel angry, as she soon noticed the curious look Penny was giving her, and her cheeks became bright red.

"Your father is a very funny man," Penny said.

"Yeah, you could say that," Ruby mumbled. "His injury didn't hurt his sense of humor at all. I think it boosted it, actually."

"I am glad to see him doing well. Shall we go?"

They went down the stairs to the ground floor and exited the building, coming out onto the street as the sun hovered low above them. Ruby shifted her weight between her feet, looking back at her apartment's window. She knew she had no real reason to worry about her father, but she still felt a little nervous leaving him alone with so little preparation.

"Perhaps we could go to the mall?" Penny suggested.

"The mall? I don't know…" Ruby said. "There's a lot of people there."

"Somewhere else, then." Penny looked around. "That ice cream place you like isn't that far from here, right?"

Ruby nodded, surprised Penny still remembered. They started walking down the street, Penny contently humming under her breath, while Ruby struggled to push down her anxiety and find something to fill the silence.

"So, uh… It's been a while," she said. "You kinda disappeared, Penny. Where have you been since Merlot?"

"Well, for a while, I stayed at the place I was built in Atlas. I was… living with my father, in a way," Penny said. "But lately I've been all over the world. You have to go to a lot of places to keep up with the Grimm."

"You've been hunting Grimm?" Ruby asked. "I had no idea. That's awesome!"

"It _is_ a very cool job, yes." Penny smiled lightly. "It took a long time to convince General Ironwood to let me do it. I think he ran out of patience after a while and just gave up."

"Nice. So you're not spying on us anymore?"

"Never again." Penny nodded earnestly. "I am very sorry about what I did, Ruby. Lying to you like that… I would understand if you didn't want anything to do with me anymore."

"I'm here, aren't I? It's water under the bridge," Ruby said. "How did you know where I'm living, though? I've been trying to keep a low profile around here, so…"

"Commander Goodwitch told me," Penny said. "She was the one who suggested I come here, actually. She even arranged something to distract Ironwood in the meanwhile." She giggled. "He thinks you're a bad influence on me, so he would _never_ authorize this evening."

"Ironwood sounds more like a dad than your actual dad," Ruby noted. "But if you sneaked all the way here just so we could hang out, I guess he can't be that wrong about me."

"Oh, he's a big softie on the inside. Not unlike Goodwitch, now that I think about it!"

They arrived at the ice cream shop, which was quiet just before its busy hours. Ruby ordered a mixed chocolate ice cream for herself, which Penny paid for, seeing as Ruby hadn't exactly had a chance to grab her wallet before her father kicked her out of the apartment.

Penny didn't order anything – she _could_ eat, but for her that was less satisfying than it was cumbersome. But she was quite content with just keeping Ruby company and exchanging little tidbits of their lives during the time they had been distant.

Time flew by without their noticing. They went to the arcade and played through almost every game there, then went to the mall and had a look around at the more interesting shops.

Penny seemed a lot more expressive and talkative than when they had first met, which dazed Ruby at first, but she soon grew used to that change and quite liked it. It was a freeing experience, to have such an easy, honest conversation with a friend. Ruby had missed that more than she had realized.

Before she knew it, night had fallen, and Ruby found herself walking in a park with Penny. The area was empty save for them, and it showed in the silence that surrounded. With a startle, Ruby noticed Penny had stopped talking, and was now looking at her with a strange look on her face.

"Penny? Is something wrong?"

Penny stopped walking, her eyes fleeing Ruby's with uncharacteristic haste. "I… I haven't been entirely truthful with you today, Ruby. I feel bad – you've been such a perfect friend, and yet I keep finding ways to betray you."

"Penny, what are you talking about?" Ruby asked concernedly. "I'm sure everything's okay. If you just explain to me what's bothering you…"

Penny pursed her lips, deep in thought. After a moment, she nodded to herself and looked at Ruby again. "Commander Goodwitch asked me to come here because she thought you were having a tough time. She said you seemed lonely and stressed and… not entirely yourself," she said. "After spending time with you, I must say I agree with that assessment."

"I… I guess you're right," Ruby said. "It's been strange lately. But you've helped a lot!" She clapped her hands. "I feel a lot better, and that's all because of you, Penny!"

Penny gave her a half-smile. "That makes me very happy. But… that's not the only reason I'm here," she said quietly. "I've been wanting to speak to you for a while, Ruby, about something very important. But I didn't know what to say… I still don't quite know…"

Ruby felt a sudden heat in her ears, and her heart accelerated inside her chest. She wanted to take a step away, but her legs refused to obey her – as did her eyes, staring fixedly at Penny's face.

"What Merlot did to me… It was terrible," Penny said. "I know I told you that I couldn't even remember what happened, and while that is true, I can still…" Her pupils spun so fast they became like green blurs, then halted sharp. "Somehow, I know it, and it's terrifying. I was _there_ , and not, at the same time. An endless shutdown… Just the thought that it might happen again someday…"

Ruby breathed out in relief, only to snap to attention when she noticed Penny frowning at her. "Sorry! But you're… you're okay, right?"

"I'm okay now. I know it's just fear," Penny said. "And _that's_ the thing that really scares me. I didn't use to think that way before…" she trailed off. "I think something went wrong when you saved me, Ruby."

Ruby swallowed dry, remembering how odd Penny had acted after she'd been saved – Ruby had thought she had broken, and now she realized she might not have been so wrong after all. Panic seized her as she looked at Penny, a cold sensation running up and down her body, her lungs constricting…

"Ruby, don't freak out! It's not all bad!" Penny exclaimed, grabbing her by the shoulders. "It's not just fear. There's a bunch of stuff happening inside my head now, and most of it is good. At least I _think_ it's good – it's so hard to figure out those things, I get lost inside myself all the time now…"

"I… I feel the same way," Ruby said breathlessly. "All the time."  
Penny's face lit up, and she threw herself at Ruby, wrapping her arms around her as if she were drowning. "You do? What is it? How do you deal with it?!"

"I-I don't know!" Ruby stuttered. "That's just life, I guess. We're all trying to figure it out." She laughed nervously. "Welcome to the club?"

Penny stepped back, seemingly unsure whether to be angry or thankful.

"Look, as long as you're honest with yourself, you're gonna be okay," Ruby said. "That's really all I can say. You're not looking at the most experienced person in the world, Penny."

"I suppose you have a point," Penny said bitterly. "You do have a large collection of issues."

"Hey! Just because you're different now doesn't mean you get to be a jerk about it!"

For a while, they just glared at each other, before a giggle escaped Ruby's lips – and suddenly they were both laughing.

As their bout of laughing lessened, a little beep came from Penny, and she turned her eyes to the sky, her head tilted slightly as if listening to someone. Ruby raised a hand to her mouth and bit on a finger to silence herself.

"Yes, Sir. That does seem to be my current location," Penny said. "No, Sir. I haven't detected a malfunction in my navigation systems." Her eyebrows furrowed angrily, but she shut her lips tight and continued to listen. "No, _Sir_. No lapses in my memory banks. Yes, I do remember you said that."  
She looked at Ruby and rolled her eyes.

"I'll be home in a flash. Penny out!" She groaned out loud, then addressed Ruby. "That was General Ironwood. He's very angry with me."

"Yeah, I think I got that," Ruby said. "Sorry for causing you trouble, Penny."

"Don't be sorry! This evening was very fun – we should do this more often!" Penny gave Ruby a quick hug, then stepped a good distance away. "I have to go now. There's some Grimm I have to slay."

She clicked her heels and hopped off the ground, igniting her propulsors to hover close to the treetops around them.

"Didn't you say you were going home?" Ruby asked.

Penny grinned. "I _did_ say that."

She clicked her heels again and jetted away, becoming a shining green trail in the night sky, while Ruby watched on in awe.

"So cool…"

* * *

When she came back home, Ruby realized it was way past dinner time, as the only light that remained on in the apartment came from the TV in the living room. She closed the door quietly behind herself and looked at the back of her father's head, feeling a pit in her stomach.

It would be easy to grab something to eat, say good night, and retire to her room. Things had been going well so far – why did she have to rock the boat? But if she was giving out life advice now, she ought to be acting it out too. It was time for her to be honest with herself.

"Hi, Dad," Ruby said, walking over to him. "I'm back."

He looked back at her and smiled. "Hey, sweetheart. Did you have fun with Penny?"

"Yep. It was good." Ruby took a deep breath. "Dad, can we talk?"

Looking concerned, he picked up the remote and muted the TV, then patted the spot on the couch beside him. Ruby sat down, looking straight ahead as if just looking at her father would burn her eyes. She vaguely realized she was clawing her skirt, but as hard as she tried, she couldn't seem to relax her fingers.

"Is this about you wanting to leave?"

Ruby gasped and looked at her father. "I don't – I don't want to leave!" She grimaced. "I mean – I want to, but I don't _want to_."

"I understand. You don't have to feel bad," Taiyang said. "I would have to be blind to not notice how you've been feeling since Yang left. This place is suffocating you."

"You… you make it sound like I hate you or something…" Ruby said.

"Ruby, you've been nothing short of wonderful to me. But I'm fine now." Taiyang tapped his leg. "I don't need you to babysit me anymore, if that's what you're worried about. I have friends I can call if I really need help. And we both know you have more important things to be doing than keeping company to a silly old man."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Ruby said. "I'm worried I'll do that thing again, where I get really into the job and forget everything else."

She felt a tightness in the throat and had to take a moment to breathe.

"I know Mom did the same thing. She couldn't stop, and we lost her because of it," she said. "I don't wanna be like her. I don't want you to lose me because of some stupid need to be a hero every freaking day."

"Ruby. You're becoming an adult. For all that matters, you already are one." He put a hand on her shoulder. "I _will_ lose you, and you _will_ forget me. And I'll live for the days you remember me. That's all any parent can hope for."

Like a dam breaking, Ruby's tears came free and she tackled him in a hug. She held him tight and pressed her face to his chest, knowing the moment she let go, she wouldn't get to have him like that again for a long, long time.

"Now, now. You should be packing your bags, not crying like a baby," Taiyang said, and she could tell he was barely keeping himself together. "Someone needs to be out there saving the world."

Gathering all her strength, Ruby pushed herself off him and got up from the couch. She looked down at him for a moment, then turned and walked stiffly to her room.

She stood frozen, not able to keep a single clear thought in the unruly storm that was her mind. One moment of weakness, and she knew she would come undone again.

She opened her closet and got down on her knees to retrieve the dusty black case resting at the bottom. She dragged it out and put it on the floor. Each opened latch seemed to shake the world, drawing the air around her until she was immersed in a vacuum.

Ruby stood up and held out Crescent Rose before her. With a click of a button, it unfolded in all its glory. She looked at herself in the mirror and, eyes dried, smiled.

Time to hunt.

* * *

 **RUBY ROSE WILL RETURN**

* * *

 **Yay for another story done! (with ungodly lateness but yay anyway!)  
**

 **This was kind of a weird story to write at times. You'd think a Ruby-centered story would have lots of action and humor and wholesomeness... and there was... but it also turned out to be a very morose (in the lack of a better word?) tale at times. I think that's a natural result of the "growing up" theme of the story, and I didn't shy away from that.**

 **I do love writing this version of Ruby because of that dichotomy. She can't be the happy-go-lucky gal all the time. We can get more of that when she's with other people, right? Hopefully? Hopefully.**

 **There's also a lot of minor stuff I wanted to put into the story but couldn't quite fit them in right. For example, I intended for Ruby to, at some time in this last chapter, ask either Yang or her father whether they feel "angry" because she puts so much importance in Summer when they were the ones to truly raise her. I hope to find room to explore that in the future, but it's very likely the possibility's passed with this story. (their answer would be the obvious one, by the way)**

 **Anyway! We can't hang around Ruby forever. I think it's time we move on to another old face... But for now: post-credits!**

 **-Zeroan**


	10. Foreshadowing (dun dun dun!)

"So you took my advice, after all. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting you to – and since I hadn't heard a word about you for two months…"

"Well, it wasn't _bad_ advice. It almost got me killed, sure, but-"

"To be fair to myself, you carried it out most dangerously. I had nothing to do with that."

" _But_ – it got me what I wanted. Merlot is locked up. My family and friends are safe. And… it was fun to kick some supervillain butt after so long. So, thank you, I guess."

Cinder crossed one leg over the other and leant back on her chair, her lips parting with her signature smirk. Ruby sighed and rolled her eyes, but otherwise kept her exasperation to a minimum. There was little harm in letting Cinder have her little moment of fun, she supposed.

"You are very much welcome," Cinder said. "And I thank _you_ for putting your reservations about me aside, if only momentarily. It might have been for the greater good, but you never can disregard the significance of a first step."

"If you think _I_ think you're not a bad guy anymore, you're wrong," Ruby said. "You're also very silly. You know I'm not that dumb."

"I do know… Which is why I'm delighted you came to talk to me again anyway."

Cinder's face lost its levity as she stared at Ruby. Whatever was going on inside her head, Ruby couldn't tell, and as much as that scared her, it was also very intriguing.

"I used to think you were naïve. I said so when we first met. You still are, to an extent… but you've grown a lot since then," Cinder said. "I could almost think you intend to change me to your side. To help me turn over a new leaf…" Her eyes straightened. "But that's not it. So _why_ are you here?"

Ruby looked at her obviously. "You said before that you were bored." She mirrored Cinder in crossing her legs and leaning back, then shrugged. "I'm a hero. I can't ignore people in despair, even if they are evil."

Cinder stared at her, her feelings unclear – except that she was caught off-guard, and that alone almost had Ruby jumping out of her chair in petty triumph.

"Hmm. I see." Cinder's eyes sparked with understanding. "What a shining example of humanity you are. I almost forget how much I despise you."

Ruby smirked. "So, what do you wanna talk about today?"

* * *

Glynda walked out the back of her jet and marched straight onward, her powerful steps and the steel case under her arm drawing the attention of the agents out in the Beaconship. She didn't say a thing to any of them, but they all diverted their stares before long, knowing better than to pry into the Sub-Director's business.

She entered the Command Room in record time, stopping briefly after the entrance to stare at the Director. Catching sight of her, Ozpin stopped talking to an agent and gestured for everyone to leave. The room was empty in less than a minute, except for the two of them.

Glynda put the case down on the strategy table and opened its latches.

"I assume it wasn't just a freak accident, then," the Director mused.

Glynda shot him a look that served better as an answer than any words. "The entire facility's surveillance system went down at once. It stayed so for thirty-seven minutes. All attempts at restoring it were met with failure. Eventually, it came back on its own."

"On its own," Ozpin repeated, as if he didn't entirely agree with that assessment. "Nothing was stolen?"

"As far as we know," Glynda said. She opened the case, revealing a holographic projector, which she turned on. The projection showed a barren white room, and a lone frazzled figure pacing restlessly. "This was Merlot's cell moments before the event. Recovering the footage was no easy task."

She pressed a button, speeding up the footage. It soon turned into a static mess. When it returned to normal, nothing was changed about the room – except Merlot, curled up on the floor without a trace of movement.

"He has been unresponsive to any sort of contact since then, but the wardens have reported occasional shouts from his cell at night. Everything points to him being terrified of something – or _someone_ ," Glynda said. "The other prisoners haven't shown any signs of sharing his condition."

"The footage," Ozpin said. "I didn't imagine those red flashes, did I?"

"I was going to point them out next," Glynda said, unimpressed by his quick grasping of the situation. She knew him too well. "You already know what they mean, don't you?"

"Yes. This was a warning."

"As I thought." Glynda stepped back and took out her Scroll. "I will contact Qrow and start the necessary preparations. He'll refuse to assist, but I will make it clear I am not making requests."

"Remarkable initiative, Glynda, but none of that will be necessary," Ozpin said. "We have nothing to worry about. The warning wasn't meant for us."

Glynda crossed her arms, demanding an explanation. Ozpin nodded at the case, and the recording of the unmoving Merlot.

"He hurt a man he should not have," Ozpin said. "Frankly, he is lucky to have survived the ordeal."

He closed the case and handed it over to Glynda.

"Delete the footage, then relocate Merlot. Someplace isolated and quiet where he can clear his head."

Glynda stared incredulously at Ozpin. If Merlot was to be taken anywhere, she would think it to be a more secure location, not the contrary. But she wasn't the Director – Ozpin was, and she trusted him to know what he was doing. With a curt nod, she put the case under her arm and walked away.

Alone in the Command Room, Ozpin took his cane in both hands and stared at it for a moment, then nodded assuredly to himself and called everyone back into the room.

* * *

"For the love of God, Jaune, put that fire out! And that cloth – OH MY GOD get that cloth away from the fire!"

"I can't put it out! You do it, you're the one that's fireproof!"

" _You_ started the fire!"

"Because you told me to cook! Pyrrha, help me out here!"

"He does have a point, Yang. You knew the risks ahead of time…"

"See? Pyrrha gets it!"

"Oh, shut up! I just wanted the place to be nice when Ruby moved in. Now look at all of this! It's a miracle we're all still alive at this point!"

"If you cared so much, you should have cooked yourself and left me to make the decorations."

"Oh, yeah, and then we'd have the place looking like a nerd convention."

"Wouldn't Ruby like that?"

"Is she _your_ sister now, Pyrrha?"

"Right. Sorry."

"I'd like to point out that Pyrrha did all her tasks flawlessly."

"Thank you!"

"Look. Okay. Let's all calm down. If the three of us work together, we can fix everything before Ruby-"

"Hey guys, I'm – woah!"

Ruby got out the elevator with her luggage in tow. She looked at the place, eyes widening as she took in the raging fires, collapsed furniture, and the chandelier hanging from the ceiling by a thread.

"Did… did you do all this for me?"

Yang and Jaune looked at each other, nodded, and pulled Pyrrha to stand between them and Ruby.

"…Yes?" Pyrrha answered tentatively. "Welcome home…"

The chandelier fell from the ceiling, crashing on the table between them.

Ruby blinked a couple times, then threw her arms up and shouted, "Awesome!"

* * *

 **THINGS WILL GO VERY WRONG**

 **(OR RIGHT)**

 **IN**

 **TALES FROM THE HUNT TOWER**


	11. The next story is up!

**The next story,** **Blake** _ **Belladonna: The Face of Vacuo,**_ **is up! Enjoy!**

* * *

"So you brought me… here," Blake said, looking around. "A White Fang hideout, I'm assuming. But what's _this_? A broom closet? I know you people aren't exactly well-off, but…"

"I'm sorry, we're not in the business of keeping prisoners," Trifa said bitingly. "You should know that already, seeing as you've made your life mission to make our job a living hell."

"The White Fang's a job now?" Blake raised her eyebrows. "Maybe I got out too soon…"

Trifa's hand rose like a blur, knuckles clashing against the side of Blake's mouth. The blow would have knocked Blake off the chair if it weren't for the bindings. As it was, her head absorbed most of the impact, and it hung to the side for a long while as she recovered. It was during that time that Blake noticed a strange coldness on top of her head.

"Did you…" Blake looked up at Trifa, a quiet rage bubbling in the back of her throat. "Did you take off my bow?"


End file.
